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New Straits Times

#SHOWBIZ: Supernatural take on Fraser's Hill founder's mysterious disappearance

BEFORE its June 26 premiere, the film 'Misteri Fraser 1910' has already been recognised internationally. Earlier this year, it was placed in the category of Best First-Time Filmmaker at the LiZ Off Global Network Sessions Vol. 4 at Pinewood Studios, the United Kingdom. Its producer Elani Aidid said that the thriller and semi-biographical movie about Louis James Fraser, the pioneer of the popular tourist resort Fraser's Hill in Raub, Pahang, was shortlisted alongside 31 films from other countries. At the recent screening of 'Misteri Fraser 1910' in GSC Mid Valley Megamall recently, Elani said: "Fraser's Hill holds various mysterious tales, including the sudden disappearance of its Scottish pioneer in 1910." This mystery, she said, inspired her company Millionaire Film Production to turn it into a commercial film for local and international audiences. GENRE "Initially we planned to produce a film of a different genre. "Upon arriving at the location, we read about Fraser who went missing after discovering tin and never found again. "This sparked an idea for me to create a fictional theory about the explorer's disappearance, leading to the making of this film." Elani described ''Misteri Fraser 1910' as a unique marriage of history and horror. "You can say that 50 per cent is based on a true story, and the other half is fiction. We're very thankful to the National Film Development Corporation of Malaysia (Finas) for helping us through the Film Script Development Fund," she said. NON-FICTION 'Misteri Fraser 1910' features Josiah Hogan as Fraser, and the other cast members are Amai Kamarudin, Siti Hariesa, Isyariana Che Azmi, Erry Putra, A Galak, Datuk Rahim Razali and Henzi Andalas. Josiah, 39, plays Fraser, marking his first non-fiction role as an actor. He said: "The most challenging thing was to understand the slang of Fraser's home country. "I had to do a lot of research on the Scottish slang to adapt to the character. "As an actor, I tried to adjust Fraser's persona based on the available materials, including using my imagination to enrich the storytelling." FIVE YEARS Directed by Shuhaimi Zulkefli, 'Misteri Fraser 1910' is a movie that is five years in the making. Amai, who plays Fraser's most trusted assistant Asan, said: "Our ensemble worked very well together. "Filming took place in the resort town itself from January to February last year, 12 days in the mountains and another nine in Kuala Lumpur." Isyariana, who plays Asan's possessed wife Wati said that her character was her most challenging to date. "It's my first time as one of the female leads, and I had to brave the ice, cold early morning weather, wandering at the edge of a forest around 5am. "Fortunately, I'm used to it and didn't catch a cold!" SINGER Siti Hariesa, who plays the ghost of Isyani, a nightclub singer who was Fraser's mistress, said that like Josiah, she also had to put on an accent. "Isyani's story is told in flashbacks, and she is a GRO of sorts for the British expatriates. "And as a ghost, I also had to brave the cold and dark mornings like Isyariana, but I'm glad I nailed it!' Siti Hariesa added that it was interesting to dress up in costumes dating back to the 1910s, and she felt that the kebayas that she had to wear in the nightclub scenes were elegant. "My character is a tragic one, an avenging ghost who was cruelly killed in her lifetime and returned to punish her killers. "I'm not a first-time ghost though, as I have played ghosts before in television dramas over the last few years." RUSSIA Elani said that come September, 'Misteri Fraser 1910' will enter another film festival in Moscow, Russia. The preview was attended by Tengku Puteri Seri Lela Wangsa Tengku Meriam Sultan Ahmad Shah and National Film Development Corporation (Finas) chief executive officer Datuk Azmir Saifuddin Mutalib.