Malaysian director on inspiration for milestone short film

The Sun

26-05-2025

BY the time the spotlight finds its way to a Malaysian film, it often carries the weight of years of underfunded dreams and of finding the razor-thin balance between authenticity and accessibility.
Malaysia's cinematic landscape has seen a quiet renaissance in recent years with local filmmakers steadily gaining ground in international circuits. Bleat!, a short film by Ananth Subramaniam, is the first Malaysian short to be selected at Cannes Film Festival, premiering at the prestigious La Semaine de la Critique (Cannes Critics' Week).
Amid the celebration of this milestone, theSun spoke to Ananth about the inner workings of his creative process and the intimate yet unsettling chaos that drives Bleat!, a film that pushes against expectations while rooted firmly in the emotional soil of Malaysian-Tamil identity.
Crafting identity through genre
Born of Tamil descent, Ananth has been steadily building a reputation for his layered, genre-bending storytelling that is at once personal and mythical.
His previous work, including The House of Brick and Stone, which premiered at Fantasia and Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (Bifan), and Liar Land, a Locarno Special Mention recipient, shows a consistent thematic interest.
Ananth said: 'My films explore the complex inner landscapes of ancestral identity and family. I try to weave personal and cultural memory through genre, but not in a traditional sense. I am interested in stories where the 'different' forces people to confront what they are afraid to see in themselves.'
That tension between tradition and transformation is at the core of Bleat!, a black-and-white short film that begins with a surreal image of a goat about to give birth.
Genesis of Bleat!
'None of it was mapped out from the start. It began with a bizarre visual that would not leave me alone. The image was jarring and beautiful. It captured something wild and sacred at once,' explained Ananth.
That single vision snowballed into a film that is striking in its simplicity and potent in its symbolism. Mixed with references to Tamil rituals and mythology, Bleat! is as much about the physical as it is the spiritual and an intentional echo of the filmmaker's own upbringing.
'Tamil culture has a long, rich tradition of powerful symbolism. Growing up, I was always struck by how birth, death, animals and nature held sacred weight. In Bleat!, I tried to capture that same sense,' he said.
Finding clarity in chaos
Short films are often seen as a testing ground for feature ambitions, but Ananth challenges that notion.
'A lot of people think a short film is just a smaller version of a feature, but it is not. It is its own form. If you write for that form, you do not need to sacrifice anything.'
This clarity allowed him to refine the film early, especially during the script stage.
'I did most of the editing during writing. By the time we got to the actual cut, the heart of the story was already there.'
Yet, the creative process was not solitary. Working alongside producers from the Philippines and France expanded the scope of the project.
'They pushed me beyond my cultural shorthand. They asked the hard questions such as 'Why does this image matter?' 'Why hold this tension longer?' It sharpened my vision rather than diluted it,' he explained.
Visual language of stillness
Shot entirely in black and white, Bleat! is stripped to its bones – minimalist, yet deeply expressive.
Ananth described the visual style as elemental. This contrast forms the basis of the film's emotional tone, which was, by Ananth's own admission, the most challenging aspect to get right.
'I did not want it to tip too far into surrealism or be too comedic. It needed to live in that in-between space where humour and unease sit side by side. That is where the magic happens.'
With long-time collaborators including producer Choo Mun Bel and cinematographer Adrian Wong, as well as editors Gogularaajan Rajendran and BK Lee, Ananth built a creative environment that allowed the film to find its rhythm.
Ananth.
Cannes milestone, what comes next
When asked why he thinks Bleat! stood out to the Cannes Critics' Week committee, Ananth is characteristically modest.
'If I had to guess, maybe it is because it challenges how stories from minority communities are usually told. I did not want to fit into a neat narrative box. I played with tone and genre – and I think they saw something new in that. This moment feels like a gateway and I plan to keep walking through it,' Ananth explained.
He is currently working on his debut feature Pray to the Thunder, supported by international platforms including Berlinale Talents Tokyo and Singapore International Film Festival's Asian Producers Network. The project has already earned awards from Bifan and Brussels Art Film Festival.
Advice for next generation
For young filmmakers impressed with his achievement, Ananth's advice is simple, but weighted with conviction.
'A sense of belonging is important, but it comes at a cost and that cost is worth paying for.'