INSPIRED by the historic events of May 9, three Malaysian directors are paying homage to the ordinary Malaysian whose small actions have led to a big change.

Rise: Ini Kalilah is six short stories of interconnected lives, set in the days leading up to the general election, told in the various languages commonly spoken in the country. 

In one tale, a Malaysian student abroad races against time to get postal votes delivered to the Election Commission at home before the deadline. If the plot sounds familiar, it is because it is based on the real life accounts of Malaysians rushing home to personally hand over to the officials their postal votes and those of their friends and family living abroad, because their ballot papers were delivered to them mere days before submissions closed.

Speaking in Malay, English, Mandarin and Tamil, the cast is as multiracial as the dialogue. Remy Ishak, Mira Filzah and Jack Tan are among the actors in the film directed by Nik Amir Mustapha, Saw Teong Hin and Prem Nath.

Rise: Ini Kali Lah” took only three months to produce. 

Saw said this was because everyone involved in the film was “committed”.

“The producers, directors and the whole production team were very committed to make it happen. 

“Once on board we wrote the script, cast the actors, looked for locations and did pre-production. 

“All concurrently… everyone did their part to make it happen,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

Asked if the local cinema scene will improve in a “new Malaysia”, Saw said one could hope. 

“Hope was the driver for change. It continues to be the force for all things good.”

Rise: Ini Kalilah will open at cinemas nationwide on September 13. – August 3, 2018.