Kulit Wayang, a Malaysian movie packed with local and Indonesian stars, win many hearts with its unique cultural promotional campaign

The Star

21-04-2025

THE Kulit Wayang Official Movie Launch, Trailer Premiere and Press Conference was held at the Kulit Wayang Cultural Festival @ KL Base in Sungai Besi recently. The two-day festival was part of the unique promotional campaign for the movie.
The festival seamlessly integrated a 3km celebrity fun run, a vibrant cultural festival, a traditional dance competition, traditional games, and also the movie launch.
On hand at the launch of the movie which was produced by Mico Studio (M) Sdn Bhd, were its producer Nevin Hiong, co-producer Penny Chan from EMT Ventures Sdn Bhd, director Dain Said, its main cast members which included award-winning actors Fattah Amin & Pekin Ibrahim, Indonesian female leads Reynavenzka Deyandra & Jenna Kamaratih and well-known local Chinese actress Amanda Ang.
'We know that a movie launch shouldn't just be for the press and have transformed the event into a large-scale public celebration. This two-day event gives us a unique opportunity for brand synergy and cultural engagement,' expressed Penny Chan, who is also the festival organiser during the press session.
'Kulit Wayang has the potential to resonate deeply with Malaysian audiences. As a co-producer, I am very proud and honoured to be part of this movie,' she added.
'It took us nearly a year to shoot this movie and I am so excited to see it finally being released. The film highlights our fading traditions with the hope that the new generation will not forget it. I am also proud that the producer and director were brave enough to cultivate and inject the movie with a unique storyline and an artistic visual style, in an entertaining way while preserving its key messages,' shared Fattah Amin.
'I have worked with both the producer and director twice now, and I believe they have made an entertaining and creative movie that showcases our cultural elements while featuring the beauty of the east coast,' Pekin Ibrahim added.
Set in a remote coastal Malaysian village in the 1980s, Kulit Wayang tells the story of Ramlee (aka Pak Lee), a reclusive outcast living deep in the dark swamps, talking to his shadow play puppets late into the night.
The locals steer clear of Pak Lee, believing that he committed a heinous act in the past that rendered him unable to perform his shadow play theatre ever since. Dewi arrives with her mother, Dian, an Indonesian researching the famed shadow puppet traditions of the village. While her mother does her research, Dewi befriends the local 'swamp kids', especially drawn to the mysterious but mute Ayu.
Egged on by Ayu, Dewi finds Pak Lee's lair in the swamps and becomes his student. As the bodies of children killed by a man-eating crocodile start turning up, Dian starts to notice Dewi's increasingly bizarre behavior.
Dewi seems to be channeling voices from the past who seek retribution even while endangering her life. Dewi's presence in Pak Lee's life awakens a spirit that has been dormant in him
Award-winning Malaysian director Dain Said of Dukun & Bunohan fame, returns to the locations from his iconic film Bunohan, where he once again sets his tormented characters lurking in the dark swamps while luring his audiences into a magical world of stories, ghouls and demons.
'Kulit Wayang combines Malay folklore with the rich traditions of Malay shadow puppet theatre, Wayang Kulit. It is a fantastical fairytale exploring grief and loss, love and reconciliation, and the healing power of storytelling,' explains Dain during the question & answer session.
'I grew up on the east coast of Peninsula Malaysia listening to stories on the beach told by local shadow theatre or wayang kulit storytellers. Wayang Kulit is now a dying tradition in Malaysia. For centuries, a main 'trunk' of shadow puppet stories told and played across South-East Asia has been the Ramayana epic,' Dain shared.
'I was intrigued to learn that traditional Malay shadow puppeteers invent their own 'branch stories' (cerita ranting), weaving new storylines derived off the main trunk of the Ramayana epic.
"So when Mico Studio's producer Nevin Hiong, approached me with his story idea for a film connected to Malay wayang kulit, I felt at once that our film Kulit Wayang can be a modern take on the branch-storytelling tradition of this art form, which represents our early attempts at storytelling with the moving image,' he further added.
'The heart of the story idea that Nevin brought to me was that of grief, but we wanted to put it through a genre trope – fantasy, ghosts and ghouls, pivoted on my childhood experiences of watching and listening to stories on the beach,' Daim continued.
'It was a fantastic and exciting project to work on. I appreciated that Nevin also felt that perhaps we can re-introduce our ancient shadow play tradition to younger audiences,' a thrilled Daim enthused.
According to Dain, children's free-spirited imaginations have no limits. When stories and local storytelling are lost, so is the childhood ability to imagine, to tell our stories. Dain was inspired by this and wanted to express the old idea of how children can inspire adults, to achieve the freedom of imagination that adults lose.
In Kulit Wayang, that idea takes on vengeful and tragic consequences, especially on the lead character, seven-year-old Dewi, who through befriending a ghost, helps shadow puppet master Pak Lee, reconcile with his past and the truth of what really happened in his village.
'Since this shadow play theatre tradition was once shared across the region, I wanted Kulit Wayang to be a South-East Asian story, blending tradition and modern technology in telling stories to contemporary audiences,' conclude Dain.
The Main Cast
Fattah Amin is a top A-line actor in Malaysia with a Facebook following of 80,000, 3.7 million in Instagram and 906,000 on TikTok. He has won numerous awards, including Pelakon TV Lelaki Popular" at the 31st ABPBH (Anugerah Bintang Popular Berita Harian), and "Pelakon Baharu Paling Popular (Lelaki)" award in 2016.
Pekin Ibrahim has 229,000 followers on Facebook, 454,000 on Instagram and 295,000 subscribers on YouTube. He is known for his roles in critically acclaimed films like "Bunohan (2012) Hantu Kak Limah Balik Rumah (2010) Mat Moto: Kami Mat Moto Bukan Mat Rempit (2016)", for which he won Best Actor at the Malaysia Film Festival. He has also received numerous award nominations, including Best Actor at the 24th FFM (2012) and the 28th FFM (2016) in various categories.
Indonesian actress and model Reynavenzka Retno Ayu Deyandra Wayang started acting from 2010. Her career highlights includes films such as Taring, Bahwa Cinta Itu Ada, Toilet 105, Misteri Hantu Selular, Brokenhearts, Pulau Hantu, Panda and web series that include Kalis as well the sinetron Firasat.
Junior Indonesian actress Jennaira Kamaratih Jiwa has starred at the Junior Theater Festival Jakarta, and the Open Bo Lagi 2 webseries.
Local Chinese actress Amanda Ang is known for excellent and award-winning performances in the Singaporean television series Last Madame as well as local movie Blood Flower.
The film which was filmed on location in Terengganu also stars Wan Zulkifli, Farra Zohra and Zul Zamir. The screenplay for the film was written by Dain Said, Ben Omar & Nandita Solomon from an original story by Nevin Hiong. Music for the movie was composed by Yudha Kobayashi.
The launch event also saw the screening of the Kulit Wayang official trailers.The well-attended launch was followed by a Wayang Kulit performance (Shadow Play) featuring actors Fattah Amin & Pekin Ibrahim, followed by a meet & greet session for selected fans, influencers & KOLs.
Kulit Wayang' is supported by Perbadanan Kemajuan Filem Nasional Malaysia (FINAS) and Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC).
The key sponsors & partners for the film includes Surewin Entertainment Sdn Bhd, Editing Star, Halo Optical, Beauterfly International, RT Pastry, Fusion Snacks Global, Gorgeous Jo, Yougut, Gardenia, Chek Hup, Musang Valley Plantation, Fatimas & Roti Roti (Sharepopo), Bestari Food (Saingon), Lafre, Cutea Panda, Chinese Imperial Beef Roti, Little Joe Mama Joe, Be Leap Wetwipes, Axe Brand, Merry Ice Cream, Biolyn Oil, Speed 2.O, Footer, Aims Fresh, Liquick, Moss, MD Plantation, ArctaPhos, Spritzer, Honey, Fruitplus, Himalaya, Top Win, Happy 66 Tool, Kakatoo, Ma Beaute, Face bar, Sneaky Surprise and Heritage, among others.
Kulit Wayang can be seen in more than 50 cinemas nationwide from 1st May 2025.
Also announced during the event was that the Malika Music Festival 2025, originally scheduled to be held during Kulit Wayang Cultrural Festival has been postponed to 31st May 2025, in order to make it a bigger and more exciting show. Additional line up added to the festival which features Indonesian pop rock heavyweights Nidji, punk rock favourites Bunkface and timeless indie stalwarts OAG.