Namewee’s Film Banglasia launches Asia’s largest crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter3 min read
Reading Time: 2 minutesNamewee is one of Asia’s most well-known entertainment personalities; being multi-talented and wearing many hats as singer, songwriter, director, actor and YouTuber. He was an early adopter of social media in 2005 and is now a major digital influencer with over 580,000 subscribers on YouTube (No. 1 in Malaysia) and 1.48 million followers on Facebook.
His first three self-directed-and-acted films, NASI LEMAK 2.0 (Malaysia No. 1 Chinese box office), HANTU GANGSTER and KARA KING, are major box office hits and honored with multiple awards at film festivals across the world. He was named YouTube’s Independent Artiste of the Year 2014, and received WebTVAsia Awards 2015’s Malaysia Most Popular Video award.
BANGLASIA is his forth and latest film which received worldwide attention for being the first Malaysian banned film to screen at major international film festivals:
Osaka Asian Film Festival 2015
New York Asian Film Festival 2015
Singapore International Film Festival 2015
About: BANGLASIA
Harris, a poor Bangladeshi worker in Malaysia, simply wants to return to his hometown to marry the love of his life. However, his leave is denied when his ruthless boss decides to confiscate his passport. Enter Hanguoren, a pro-Malaysian activist who preaches to his fellow countrymen to regain their home in its natural state without immigrants. And then there is Rina, the idealistic daughter of the boss who falls for Harris at first sight, as the trio gets embroiled in an energetic comedy of errors.
This story is inspired by real life events happening in Namewee’s beloved home country Malaysia, a melting pot of diverse languages, cultures, ethnicity and socioeconomic status. A former British colony independent since 1957, this South East Asian nation has prospered at the expense of simmering nationalistic, racial and religious tensions underpinned by influx of migrant workers, that threaten to destroy the fabric of unity among its largely peace-loving people. BANGLASIA sends a strong message to its audience (particularly Malaysians) that for the sake of the next generation, Malaysia’s future cannot be taken for granted and something must be done to preserve and protect its integrity.
Kickstarter Objective:
They are seeking to raise USD 500,000 to partially recoup their initial production cost of more than RM 4,000,000 (USD 1,000,000) so that they can afford to release the movie globally for FREE. Part of the funds will be used to pay for extra post-production editing so that qualified donors can be mentioned in the front and end credits. This is also a opportunity for all of Namewee’s supporters who believe in him and his projects to contribute and be part of in their own capacity.
Risks and challenges
The producer and director (Namewee) already suffered a major setback when Banglasia was officially banned in Malaysia due to 31 scenes that were deemed “unsuitable” for general viewing, despite a huge demand by millions of Namewee fans for it to be screened. The biggest challenge upon being successfully funded is to provide the most accessible platform for all donors (especially Malaysia-based audience) to view the Director’s Cut version.
However, the biggest risk of NOT getting successful funding is this film; which really is a human story that tells the struggles of forging racial and national unity, will be buried for good and never to be released again.
Support Namewee’s BANGLASIA Kickstarter Campaign here.
Image Credit: Namewee/8sian media
