Tamil films have traditionally been made in India since the early 1900s and Malaysian and Singapore Tamil-speaking film goers have been a major overseas support for that industry. With more than a century’s history behind them the Indian Tamil film producers, technicians and actors have reached international levels in production values, performances and excellence, many winning awards at international film festivals.

 

Malaysian Tamil film audiences have not remained only as passive consumers of these Indian-made dream fares. Many Malaysians have ventured to India to prove their talents in various departments of filmmaking, and some like Malaysia Ravichandran and Malaysia Vasuthevan had carved a name for themselves and for Malaysia in the Tamil film industry from as early as the 1960s.

 

But there was no production of Tamil films in Malaysia until 1968 when the first Malaysian Tamil movie “Ratha Pei” (Blood-thirsty Ghost) was released. Though the film was fully shot in a Chennai (then called Madras) studio the entire cast and crew, and the producers were Malaysian. It took another 22 years for a second Malaysian Tamil movie, “Naan Oru Malaysian” (I Am a Malaysian) to the reach the screens in the year 1991.

 

The reluctance to make Tamil films locally was due to the high production costs and the small audience base could not support the heavy investment. But things changed favorably in the new millennium with the advent of Digital Technology in filmmaking. Production costs were slashed by more than 60%. Consumer range and semi-professional digital cameras became affordable for young filmmakers to experiment and express themselves creatively. E-cinemas provided the needed distribution channel for digital movies. Indian youths entered film courses in universities and colleges by the scores. From the year 2000, the number of Malaysian-made Tamil films grew steadily. Today there are some 10 to 20 films produced annually.

 

The year 2018 will mark 50 years in the history of Tamil films in Malaysia. We feel that this momentous historical moment should be honored with an Inaugural Malaysian Tamil Film Festival. Through this festival, we hope to showcase to the cinema world that there is a growing Tamil film industry in Malaysia with talented producers, technicians, actors, music composers, scriptwriters and others. Through the festival too we shall create platforms for exchange of ideas and knowledge to foster greater understanding between our filmmakers and those from India and other ASEAN countries.

 

We are now collaborating with Madras Film Society India to organize a film festival to celebrate the progress of Tamil film production in Malaysia, and thereby motivate and boost Indian youths to participate in this growing industry.

 

 

This year 2018 will mark 50 years in the history of Tamil films in Malaysia. We feel that this momentous historical moment should be honored with an Inaugural Malaysian Tamil Film Festival. Through this festival, we hope to showcase to the cinema world that there is a growing Tamil film industry in Malaysia with talented producers, technicians, actors, music composers, scriptwriters and others. Through the festival too we shall create platforms for exchange of ideas and knowledge to foster greater understanding between our filmmakers and those from India and other ASEAN countries.

 

We envisage The Malaysian Tamil Film Festival to become a major annual film event in future in the region and worldwide.