Short story by Hafiz Noor Shams in the latest SELANGOR TIMES

Hafiz is a columnist at The Malaysian Insider.

8 kelainan Buku Fixi yang ke-8, ZOMBIJAYA

1. Judul paling panjang.
2. Jumlah perkataan paling banyak di muka depan
3. Ilustrasi dan bukannya fotografi di muka depan; juga ada 28 ilustrasi di dalam.
4. Judul yang jika ditanya Lebai Google, ia tak akan merujuk kepada apa-apa selain buku ini.
5. Halaman dedikasi yang menyebut paling ramai orang (16, termasuk George A. Romero)
6. Paling ramai orang mati (i.e. jutaan rakyat Malaysia)
7. Bukan saja mengandungi perkanaan 'zombi' tapi menggunakannya 140 kali.
8. Ada kameo oleh David Hasselhoff (halaman 220-1)

Ada persaingan sengit untuk memilih kulit depan, antara dua nih:

Tapi akhirnya yang sebelah kiri menang, hasil undian ahli Fesbuk kami.

Zombijaya belum masuk mana-mana kedai. Tapi ia boleh dibeli online di Kedai Fixi.

Kalau nak datang beli sendiri dan bersua dengan penulisnya Adib Zaini, sila hadir ke mana-mana daripada 3 acara ni. (Kalau nak jadi groupie dan datang ketiga-tiga pun boley.)

Percuma. Semua dijemput hadir. Kalau datang sebagai zombi, mungkin boleh dapat buku percuma.... atau mungkin pula dipulau dan dikeji oleh tetamu lain.

MALAYSIAN SHORTS (17 Oct), once again hosted by me!

Kelab Seni Filem Malaysia
presents
MALAYSIAN SHORTS

Monday, 17 October
8pm
Auditorium, HELP University College

Pusat Bandar Damansara

Kuala Lumpur.

Entrance: FREE

All are WELCOME
No need to RESERVE SEATS

Facebook event page.

10 new narrative Malaysian short films/videos will be shown, with most of the directors present.

1. EXHALATION/ Edmund Yeo/ Japan-Malaysia/21 min
The death of a former classmate, Yosuke, brings Naoko back to her hometown. Arriving the day before his funeral, Naoko embarks upon a road trip with her friend Sayuri. They visit the site of Yosuke's fatal car accident, and gradually, their journey turns into a surrealistic experience of bittersweet remembrances, tender secrets and unspoken regrets. Dreams become increasingly vivid, memories come in the form of ghosts. They lost themselves in melancholy.

2. SUDU GAN GARFU/ Faiq Khalifa/ 14.5 minutes
Tiada kata secantik bahasa. Menampilkan lakonan oleh Adman Salleh gittew.

3. MOVEMENT IN C/ Ali Lee/ 37 seconds
The shortest short we have ever shown?

4. MARIA/ Afiq Deen/ 11 minutes
Maria is fictional thriller film inspired by the record-breaking cases of baby dumping and abandonment by Malaysian Muslim women.

5. SIX REVISITED/ Timo/ 1 minute
The second-shortest short we have ever shown?

6. MEMORIA/ Yihwen Chen/ 9 minutes
A girl. A bicycle. And a memory.

7. JEMPUT NAIK/ Ng Ken Kin/5.5 minutes
In conjunction with this year's KL 48 Hours Film Project, we present one of last year's entries by a stalwart of Malaysian Shorts. Caution: there will be blood.

8. BROGA RENDEZVOUS/ Ridhwan Saidi/ 8.5 minutes
Teman lelaki mahu ke Broga, tempat mereka pertama kali bercumbu; tetapi teman wanita tidak ingat malah sesat ketika dalam perjalanan. Dalam masa yang sama seorang guru merindui pemergian pelajar cemerlang sekolah mereka di Broga. Sebuah filpen yang melankolik, dengan sedikit unsur jenaka.

9. LE ONION DE NOIR/ Brad Liew/ 11 min
Over a telephone call, a man can be heard justifying his actions in what he sees as a sign from the divine. As he re-accounts his actions, the lines between his reality and ours blur into a mesh of primal violence. Do we question his psychotic cruelty? Or is it truly his higher calling?

10. EPAL HIJAU DI LUAR PAGAR/ Syahrul Musa/ 26 minutes
Mamat (12 tahun) mengambil upah menjaga kambing di sebuah kawasan perkuburan Cina. Satu petang, hujan lebat. Dia membawa kambing-kambing jagaannya berteduh di tokong Cina berdekatan. Kelaparan membuatkan dia terpaksa mengambil sebiji epal hijau dari tokong tersebut dan berjanji akan membayarnya semula. Dalam keadaan keluarganya yang penuh krisis, mampukah dia menepati janjinya?

TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 110 minutes

Short story by Hafidz Baharom in the latest SELANGOR TIMES

Can be seen as a companion piece to his earlier driving-themed story. Is there a "Drive, He Said" compilation in the works?

Speaking of Traffic, isn't this a great song?

Fiction in Esquire Malaysia

I am now the Fiction Editor of Esquire Malaysia!

Aside from the thrill of being associated with the kind of magazine that puts Justin Timberlake on the cover, I'm happy to be able to commission and choose stories from my favourite local writers. One of my formative experiences, way back in the previous century, was reading short stories in the American Esquire by the likes of Raymond Carver and Jay McInerney. The US magazine no longer publishes fiction regularly, but I hope the Malaysian one can - in a local fashion, natch - fill this void.

Plus, haven't we heard/read so many American stories by now? Isn't it time we celebrated our own?

Speaking of celebration, the first story I chose was by Shih Li-Kow whose book Ripples I reviewed enthusiastically almost three years ago.  Her story that I chose, Hungry in Guangzhou, was indeed from Ripples, because to kick off the Fiction section I wanted to give due kudos to a book whose excellence has still yet to be discovered by many.

All subsequent issues will have previously unpublished stories. Let the telling begin!

MALAYSIAN SHORTS is on Monday 19 Sep. Hosted by me!

It's time again to view Malaysian short films!

Most of the directors will be present, so you can ask & mingle. Most of them won't be violent:

As usual, do vote for your 3 favourite shorts of the night.

Don't vote for the ones that put you to sleep:

Kelab Seni Filem Malaysia 

presents

MALAYSIAN SHORTS (edisi September 2011)

Where: HELP University College Auditorium, Pusat Bandar Damansara, KL

When: Monday 19 September, 8pm onwards

How Much: Free lor!

You may confirm at the Facebook event page

Line-Up:

1) Afternoon River Evening Sky

Director: Edmund Yeo

2010, 19 min

A short film divided into two parallel stories. In Afternoon River, Grace, a waitress in a Bah Kut Teh restaurant tries to go through her mundane everyday work while ignoring the incessant ringing of her cell phone. In Evening Sky, the tomboyish Lai Fun seeks justice from an illegal DVD peddler who impregnated her best friend.

2) The Invigilator

Director: Manesh Nesaratnam

2010, 12 min

A story about two high-school teachers and their aspirations in the teaching profession. This film is at once a light-hearted clash of pedagogical perspectives and at the same time an echo of societies' frustrations with the inadequacies of available education systems.

3) Scene

Director: Soren Mohd Noor

2011/ 2 min

Synopsis

When a young adult receives a friend request from a “stranger” via his Facebook account, he finds himself dealing with issues of faith, principles and peer pressure.

4) Permata Bonda

Director: Fikri Jermadi

2010/ 16 min

Synopsis

The constant complaints and bickering between a mother and her daughter causes the daughter, Maimon, to reevaluate her life, forcing her to make a difficult decision that could change her life forever.

5) Burger Boy

Director: Timo

2008/20 min

Synopsis

Flipping burgers is a great way to meet people.

6) The Lims

Director: Brad Liew

2011/3 min

Synopsis

Inspired by Wes Anderson's The Royal Tenenbaums, The Royal Lims is a satire on the nasty habit of smoking and the Malaysian government's anti-smoking campaign

7) Perempuan, Hujan & Kematian

Director: Abror Rivai

2001/20 min

Synopsis

Seorang pesakit delusi sedang diwarat di atas sebuah rumah di atas bukit. Dia berdepan dengan konflik psikologu apabile melihat dirinya sebagai orang lain. Siapa dia sebenarnya?

8) Hujan Panas

Director: Nadiah Hamzah

2011 / 20mins

Synopsis

For the longest time, Zaki has dreamed about coming to America. He enrolls himself in a business course and finds himself in New York City – in an apartment with two illegal Indonesian immigrants; Ferdy and Mira, in Flushing, Queens. As he grapples with the harsh reality of living in the city, he finds himself slowly attracted to Mira. She helps him realize the possibilities of starting life anew – possibilities that are threatened by an impending marriage and his awaited return to Malaysia.

***

TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 1 hour 51 min

*Photos from Perempuan, Hujan & Kematian and Afternoon River Evening Sky

Short story by Celine Tee in the latest SELANGOR TIMES

The full issue may be read/downloaded here. This is the 40th issue and almost all had short stories in them, so there's an alumni of about 30 people (some with more than one entry).