Compiled by FATIMAH ZAINAL, C. ARUNO and R. ARAVINTHAN
MALAYSIAN director Chong Keat Sun’s latest film, which is based on a true story of a Cantonese opera troupe in Malaysia in the 1950s, was largely filmed in Penang, reported Sin Chew Daily.
Entitled Snow in Midsummer, the award-winning director said around 60% to 70% of the movie’s scenes were shot at locations such as Balik Pulau and Ayer Itam on the island side, as well as Bukit Tambun on the mainland.
Chong added that they have completed filming scenes in Penang and will be moving to other scenes in Kuala Lumpur.
Post-production will be completed in Singapore and Taiwan, and the film is expected to premiere in Penang in the middle of 2023, he said.
Chong was earlier reported to have said that he wanted to shed light on the dying art of Chinese opera.
His maternal grandmother was a Teochew opera singer, who nurtured his interest in the art form from a young age.
The movie stars Taiwanese singer Lin Wanfang, who will be playing an opera singer of Peranakan descent.
Chong won Best New Director at the 2020 Golden Horse Awards for his film Story of Southern Islet, which tells a story of a woman’s quest to find a cure for her husband who was thought to have been cursed by black magic.
The movie was inspired by Chong’s experiences growing up as well as local beliefs.
> A shop in China’s Hunan province was dubbed the “most inconvenient convenience store” as it hung by the side of a cliff, and is accessible only by climbing the face of the cliff, reported China Press.
Hanging 120m in the air at the Shiniuzhai National Geological Park, the shop measured a mere two square metres and could only fit one person at a time.
Despite its size, the shop is there to serve rock climbing enthusiasts and tourists who are attempting to scale the cliff by selling water, energy drinks, bread and chocolate.
The shop also serves as the first point of contact in case someone got stuck or is in need of help during a climb.
According to one of the shopkeepers, the shop does not earn much profit and was there solely to serve the tourists.
“Mineral water is sold at two yuan (RM1.31). This small shop is like a fuelling station (for climbers).”
Shopkeepers would reportedly climb up the shop in the morning and would later pull the goods up using a rope.
The Shiniuzhai National Geological Park is a designated protected area in China and is regarded one of the best-maintained tourist attractions in the country.
● The above article is compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with this ‘ >’sign, it denotes a separate news item.