Al Jafree Md Yusop

“I once watched a production of Arthur Miller’s 'Death of a Salesman', done in translation. I had a problem relating with what I was watching when the character Willy Loman spoke in Malay but referred to places like Brooklyn and New York. I felt detached while watching it. It was here that the importance of adaptation was affirmed for me.”

“Many have reminded me that directors like Wong Kar Wai have directed their films without a screenplay. But it must be remembered that Wong Kar Wai emerged as a filmmaker following a period as a scriptwriter who had written hundreds of scripts for television. He has understood and become synergised with the process of shaping a screenplay. The art of the screenplay is very important, and the neglect of it is one of the principal problems with filmmaking in Malaysia.”

“My late grandmother used to say that the most damning thing is when good people remain unaware of the bad they have done. That, to me, is the theme of 'Mencari Rahmat'. Society often acts cruelly without realising it. It expounds further the notion that humanity’s worst enemy is itself. In 'Mencari Rahmat' I add that humanity’s worst enemy is society itself.”