If you’ve missed my film KAMPUNG BARU ALAF BARU last Merdeka on ntv7… fret not! It will be out as a mini-series every Mondays in September (starting today) at 7:30pm! So watch it fools! Oh yeah… and above is a trailer I just cut.

Happy birthday, Malaysia!
By Zan Azlee

SEPT 3 — Merdeka Day has come and gone. Malaysia has been independent for 53 years now. I think it’s a very proud milestone. We’ve survived all this while! Next up is Malaysia Day on September 16. Another milestone, marking the year when Sarawak, Sabah and Singapore joined to form Malaysia. I’m fiercely patriotic. If you don’t believe me, sit with me as I drive on the AKLEH highway and witness the tears roll down my cheeks every time I see the KL skyline. [Click to read the rest of the article]

In spite of all the work that I’ve been swamped with this whole year… I managed to make another feature film! Damn I’m good! It’s called KAMPUNG BARU ALAF BARU (English Title: NEW AGE NEW VILLAGE)! It’s DA BOM!! Watch it on ntv7 this National Day (31st August 2010, 10:30am)!

Kampung Baru Alaf Baru
By Zan Azlee

AUG 27 — Kampung Baru has always interested me. For the unacquainted, it’s a Malay village situated in the heart of the city of Kuala Lumpur. So there are traditional wooden Malay houses with chickens running around, and in the background are concrete and steel skyscrapers. I like the juxtaposition of urban modern and rural traditional that Kampung Baru has. And so what do I decide to do? Yes, folks, I decide to grab my video camera, drive down to Kampung Baru and shoot myself a documentary film solo-journalism style! [Click to read the rest of the article]

A video literate world
By Zan Azlee

AUG 20 — When television started, it was a very exclusive industry. Only those who had the resources (i.e. money) could be involved. This was the case for all media. The Internet comes around and turns the whole business model upside down. Basically, barriers of entry like cost and technology disappeared. Twenty-four hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute. Mega news organisations like CNN and BBC use user-generated content and call it citizen journalism. There’s nothing wrong with user-generated content. In fact, most people know that I am a big advocate of it. However, only a minority is of good quality while a majority of it is crap. [Click to read the rest of the article]

Zain, the confused kid
By Zan Azlee

AUG 6 — Six-year-old Zain Azri was going to school for the first time. He was like any normal and chatty kid, making friends easily and loved running around for no reason. Now, Zain comes from a pretty liberal Muslim family and is of mixed parentage. His father is Malay and his mother, Chinese. If you grow up as a Muslim in Malaysia and go to public school, then most definitely you would have had to take Islamic studies. Zain had to. On the first day of class in Standard One, at a certain time period, Zain was led by an Ustazah, along with other Muslim students to a different class. [Click here to read the rest of the article]

Objective journalism is so yesterday!
By Zan Azlee

JULY 30 — We always complain in Malaysia that journalism is never objective. Apparently, the government keeps a tight rein on the information that goes out to the public. So all the news outlets (or shall I say the mainstream news outlets?) have a slant towards the ruling party, especially when it comes to political news. I, for one, used to complain all the time. I felt that, as a profession, journalism wasn’t going to develop, and neither would Malaysia as a nation because of it. Even in the lectures that I give, I would constantly harp on about the importance of being objective as journalists. Give both sides of the story and let the people decide. I felt that there was no place for personal opinions and bias when it came to reporting the news. Leave that to the public relations practitioners! But I think I’ve slowly come around… [Click to read the rest of the article]

I just like enjoying movies the right way
By Zan Azlee

JULY 23 — Whenever it comes to watching movies, I like to make sure that my experience is the best possible one I can get at the time. So when I go to the cinema, I always make sure I get a nice seat, a good hair band to make sure my hair isn’t in my face and a pretty girl by my side (these days, I just bring my wife). I believe that the surroundings and experience of watching a movie can actually determine whether you will enjoy it or not. [Click to read the rest of the article]

Immortality by Video
By Zan Azlee

JULY 16 — Fidel Castro is an old man and unwell so he had to finally step down as Cuba’s president and let his brother Raul (who’s also quite old!) take over. Then he disappeared from the public’s eye. That is, up until earlier this week when he decided to make an appearance on television. When the video of him appeared on Cuban television, many critics said that it was probably shot sometime ago. Adding to the suspicion was the fact that he failed to discuss the country’s current affairs, such as the release of 52 political prisoners by his brother. [Click to read the rest of the article]

WE THE PEOPLE… Angkat rumah!!! (Part 1 of 3)

Planning to move house? Get Liew Seng Tat & Geng to do it for you! Kompang, funeral marching band and lion dance are complimentary!

WE THE PEOPLE is a video show where we hear from the common man (and woman!). Click here to see all the episodes.

The survival of journalism
By Zan Azlee

JULY 9 — I do not remember my house ever not having a newspaper the entire time I was growing up. Every morning, the day’s edition would be at the doorstep. My brothers and I would read the comics; my parents, the news; and my grandmother the stock report (ruthless old granny could give George Soros a run for his money!). I have since moved out to live on my own, and my father’s newspaper subscription continued. Right up till a few months ago. [Click here to read the rest of the article]