TAN CHUI MUI Launches 'Love Conquers All'

MALAYSIAN writer-director Tan Chui Mui, 28, (pic) unveiled her latest movie, "Love Conquers All", to the local media and guests at a special screening at GSC MidValley in Kuala Lumpur on Dec 6. It was followed by a press conference with producer Amir Muhammad and local Indie film-maker Ho Yuhang, who helped in editing the film.

"Love Conquers All" is the story of Ah Ping (Coral Ong Li Whei) who arrives in Kuala Lumpur from her hometown in Penang to work at her aunt's mixed rice stall. Alone in a strange city, Ah Ping meets the predatory John (Stephen Chua Jyh Shyan) and finds herself attracted to him despite having a boyfriend back home whom she phones everyday. There is obviously something sinister in John's intentions for Ah Ping but she finds herself mysteriously drawn to him, both physically and emotionally.

The movie has won the FIPRESCI Award (from the International Film Critics) and shares the New Currents Award (for Best New Asian Film-maker of the Year) at the 11th Pusan International Film Festival. "Love Conquers All" will also be in competition at the 36th International Film Festival in Rotterdam next year, as well as taking part in the Goteborg Film Festival and the Fribourg Film Festival in Switzerland.

At an interview after the screening, Tan told this blogger that the movie was inspired by a story about pimps told to her by a friend during her stint at the Multimedia University. "I was also influenced by the beauty of my hometown in Sungai Ular, near Kuantan, and I have incorporated scenes from the village," she said. The movie was made at a RM100,000 budget.

Tan, a Film and Animation major from Multimedia University, started getting involved in film-making when she met local film-makers Amir Muhammad and James Lee in 2002. In 2004, she produced the local Tamil film, "Chemman Chaalai" ("The Gravel Road"). Last year, she quit her job as tutor at a university to concentrate on making movies. This year, she has produced both James Lee's "Before We Fall In Love Again" and Amir Muhammad's "Apa Khabar Orang Kampung".

She has also directed many short films, including "A Tree In Tanjung Malim" which won the Principal Prize at the 51st Oberhausen International Short Film Festival. Her next project, "Living Quietly" (about the effects of aging), has received the French CNC Script Development grant and will be produced by Philippe Avril of France.

Amir Muhammad and Tan Chui Mui (second and third from left) with GSC General Manager Irving Chee (left) and the cast of the movie at the press conference