Yasmin Ahmad (1958 - 2009)

July 25, 2009 11:22 AM

Acclaimed Malaysian film and advertising director Yasmin Ahmad has passed away at 11:52pm Saturday night at the age of 51, after collapsing from a stroke at a media presentation the day before. She leaves behind a legacy of film that captures the modern multicultural spirit of Malaysia, winning international festival awards and local hearts while at the mercy of conservative censors.

Some examples of her work:
Tan Hong Ming
Family
Funeral
Sepet (Trailer)
Talentime (Trailer)
Muallaf (Trailer)

posted by divabat (9 comments total)

How sad. I'd never heard of her before, but I like the examples you've linked here (Tan Hong Ming somehow made my day a little less shitty). Her struggle against the censorship of Sepet makes me want to see it. Nice post-- thank you for taking the time.
posted by Heretic at 12:18 PM on July 25 [1 favorite has favorites]

I was really shocked by the sudden news of her hospitalization and her death. I really loved her Petronas series of ads (this Deepavali one never fails to crack me up), and her Merdeka series too. I've always wanted to watch Sepet but never got around to doing so... guess I should.

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posted by hellopanda at 12:46 PM on July 25

divabat, you gave her a beautiful tribute. I wasn't familiar with her work but I will want to see some of her films now, thanks for such a good post.
posted by madamjujujive at 7:08 PM on July 25

What a loss. She was a national treasure. Thanks for posting this.
posted by BinGregory at 7:42 PM on July 25

I just found out and am a little shocked. It's a great loss - the community really needed her.
posted by serunding at 8:49 PM on July 25

That is indeed sad; I remember seeing her advertisements for Petronas during a course in school, and found them often quite touching.
posted by ninotchka at 9:54 AM on July 26

Holy crap! This is just wrong and absolutely tragic. If you haven't watched Sepet, I would urge you to do so now. Words fail me.

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posted by ooga_booga at 5:27 PM on July 27

Such a beautiful tribute. Thank you for posting.

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posted by special-k at 7:19 PM on July 27

I have just watched a number of her short films on YouTube, and find myself suddenly devastated by the death of someone I had never even heard of until a half hour ago.
posted by Astro Zombie at 7:33 PM on July 27 [1 favorite has favorites]