KUALA LUMPUR, July 26 (Bernama) -- Yasmin Ahmad left a legacy of her works in the film and advertisement arenas, thriving on the themes of love, family ties and comedy against the backdrop of multiracial Malaysia.
Born in Bukit Treh, Muar, Johor on July 1 1958, Yasmin, who graduated in psychology from Newcastle University, United Kingdom, had won local and international creativity awards.
Married to Abdullah Tan Yew Leong, she began her career as a copywriter with Ogilvy & Mather before joining Leo Burnnett as joint creative director in 1993 and rose to become its creative executive director until her death.
Her creativity could be seen in many Petronas' commercials and evoked emotion of the viewers especially during the Aidilfitri celebration which would certainly be missed by viewers this year.
In the filming industry, Yasmin, however, drew much controversy in view of her openness and boldness in analysing social issues.
She was at the mercy of critics since her first movie, "Rabun" was screened in 2003 followed by "Sepet" (2004), "Gubra" (2006), "Mukhsin" (2006), "Muallaf" (2008) and Talentime (2009).
Despite the drawbacks, she also earned rave reviews for "Sepet" which was accorded the Best Film Award and the Best Original Screenplay Award at the Malaysian Film Festival 2005.
"Sepet" also bagged several international awards, namely the Asian Film Award at the Tokyo International Film Festival 2005, the Grand Prix Award at the Creteil International Women's Film Festival in the same year.
"Gubra" won the Best Screenplay award at the Malaysian Film Festival 2006.
"Muhsin" won the Generation kplus - Best Feature Film and the Deutsches Kinderhilfswerk Grand Prix award at the Berlin International Film Festival.
"Mukhsin" also won the Best Asean Film at the Cinemanila International Film Festival 2007.
"Muallaf" won the Asian Film Award - Special Mention at the Tokyo International Film Festival 2008.
While leaving indelible mark at home, Yasmin's movies gained international recognition as they were shown in Berlin, San Francisco, Singapore and at the Cannes Film Festival. -source from BERNAMA
One of my friend came knocking at my msn and said that she had passed away. I do felt something indeed.... hoping that it was just some mistake until i surf the net and..it's true. It's hard to describe my feeling towards her lost....i just feel that there's some connections in between.... probably because she's a Malaysian...or probably it's because that I'm interested in film making(which is not what i'm doing now) and she's the one who is so inspiring not only for me but a few hundred thousands more.
It was the film "Sepet" which introduced Yamin Ahmad to me. Then only I noticed that she is the person behind various Petronas commercial that touched the heart of millions of Malaysians. She once said "I hope my film are more evocative than provocative." And she did just that. She's probably one of the rarest gem in local advertising and film directing and indeed Malaysia just lost one of the greatest talent and asset in the media industry. Also a great lost to Leo Burnett(M). <--one of the unrealistic target for my upcoming internship/industry trainning.
She will always be remembered. pZ
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