Tan Hong Ming - Love is colour blind - Award Winning Commercial

KUALA LUMPUR: Film-maker Yasmin Ahmad's TV commercial for Petronas in conjunction with the Merdeka celebrations last year bagged the top prize at the Asia Pacific Advertising Festival (Adfest 2008) in Pattaya, Thailand last Saturday.

The commercial, entitled Tan Hong Ming, is a heartwarming insight into children's innocence in the country's multi-cultural society.



It features an off-the-cuff and unrehearsed interview with a buck-toothed, spiky-haired and talkative primary school pupil, Hong Ming, who admits to having a secret crush on his classmate Umi Qazrina.

When the baju kurung-clad Umi is called to the camera, she shyly admits that Hong Ming is her boyfriend. The surprised and overjoyed look on Hong King's face is worth a million ringgit, as he quickly pulls Umi away and walks off with her.

The footage ends with a statement: "Our children are colour blind."
Yasmin, who has just returned from Melbourne for a private screening of her film Mukhsin, said she received news about her win through a friend who was at the event.

"The trophy arrived today and I am so excited. I was told that Tan Hong Ming is the only entry from Malaysia that won an award," she said.

Shot at Hong Ming's school in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kuala Lumpur, Yasmin said for the commercial - a three-part Merdeka TV campaign series for Petronas - she interviewed 30 children "whose best friend is someone from another ethnic group."

In November last year, Tan Hong Ming was the toast of KL's advertising fraternity when it won Gold awards for Best Television Commercial and Best Film Direction at the annual 29th Malaysian Advertising Awards (Kancil Awards Festival).

Yasmin, who recently sat on the panel of jury at the 58th International Berlin Film Festival, said she was currently preparing to shoot her next feature film Talentime, starring Sharifah Amani Syed Yahya and a newcomer, Mahesh Jugal Kishor.

"Nani and Mahesh met for the first time recently and they clicked instantly! When Nani saw him for the first time, she was so smitten by his good looks that she turned to me and said "Cantiknya dia, mak! (He's gorgeous, mummy!)"

On the lead male character, Raju, Yasmin said: "It is more than just about the looks. He should have eyes that are intense and friendly at the same time. They're like Shah Rukh Khan's eyes, you know what I mean?"

Filming of Talentime will start in Ipoh in July.

Meanwhile, she said her new film Muallaf will undergo post-production work before hitting the screen soon.

"We had overwhelming response during the private screening in Singapore with some saying it was my best work to date."

As for her experience in Berlin, Yasmin said: "The top filmmakers in the world don't talk about films in an academic way. They are more concerned about the delivery of humanity in the stories. And here we are fussing over techniques and other elements."

Yasmin's third feature film, Mukhsin, recently hit the cinema circuit in France when it was played in more than 20 theatres across the country as part of their regular daily screening.

"Mukhsin will hit Korean TV soon, as we just sold the distribution rights to a company there. And now they're asking for Sepet as well!"

Source: The New Straits Times