Yasmin Ahmad

Yasmin Ahmad (7 January 1958 – 25 July 2009) was a Malaysian film director and screenwriter

Ahmad in 2006

Quotes

From Yasmin Ahmad

• I can't say for certain if my static camera influence came from the cinema of Japan, Iran, or certain cinematic traditions of Europe. I admire films that uphold real sentiments, and I daresay I don't much care which country they come from, for as long as they engage me on some human level. In fact, if I had to cite my greatest cinematic hero and influence of all, I would have to say it was Charlie Chaplin.
  • Screen Anarchy Article - Going To Tokyo: Interview With MUKHSIN Director Yasmin Ahmad - 24 October 2006 - Archive
• Chaplin always infuses humor with great drama. I think that what life is. Life is never just humorous, never just tragic.
  • Reuters Article by Jalil Hamid - Malaysian filmmaker struggles with hardline Islam - 29 June 2007 - Archive
  • Sister-hood Digital Magazine Article - Yasmin Ahmad 1958-2009 - 10 June 2020 - Archive
• I never look for trouble, just making a film.
  • Reuters Article by Jalil Hamid - Malaysian filmmaker struggles with hardline Islam - 29 June 2007 - Archive
• For me today, the most important filmmaker alive, for me personally is Pedro Almodóvar. Because he takes people on the fringes of society and they are bizarre. And If you read about them in the newspapers, you would think they were criminals. But in an Almodóvar film, you forgive them and you even learn to love them, which I think is closer to godliness, than making a film about good people running around.
  • Yasmin Ahmad retrospective at the Honolulu Academy of Arts hosted by CSEAS (Center for Southeast Asian Studies, University of Hawai`i) - Podcast: Interview with Malyasian Filmmaker Yasmin Ahmad (with Wimal Dissanayake) at 5 Min - 2007 Spring - Archive
• I don’t make films specifically for Malaysia, but I make films to tell you something about humanity.
  • Yasmin Ahmad retrospective at the Honolulu Academy of Arts hosted by CSEAS (Center for Southeast Asian Studies, University of Hawai`i) - Podcast: Interview with Malyasian Filmmaker Yasmin Ahmad (with Wimal Dissanayake) at 22 Min 50 Sec - 2007 Spring - Archive
• If some people in power here were to think, oh no you’re smaller and you’re weaker, my job is to take care of you, then might not be a bad place. It is simplistic, but I think there is some truth in that. (discussing humility and power dynamics in art, filmmaking, screenwriting, Malaysia and the World)
  • TEDxKuala Lumpur - TEDxKL - Yasmin Ahmad - 6/3/09 at 9 Min 42 Sec - 30 July 2009 - Archive
  • The Star Newspaper Article with TedxKL Link - 7 TED Talks that Malaysians should check out - 19 July 2016 - Archive
• I am optimistic and sentimental to the point of being annoying, especially to people who think that being cynical and cold is cool. Everyday, I thank Allah for everyday things like the ability to breathe, the ability to love, the ability to laugh, and the ability to eat and drink.
  • Yasmin Ahmad Personal Blog Introduction - Archived Account Page
  • MTAS Production Article - Yasmin Ahmad - Archive
  • In Social Science and Knowledge in a Globalising World by Gareth Richards and Zawawi Ibrahim - Chapter 19, Pg. 439 - Remembering Yasmin Ahmad: Social Criticism and Forgiveness - A Tribute to Yasmin Ahmad - January 2012 - Archive
• People of-course, only ever people. (How she finds inspiration for her stories and her characters?)
  • RazorTV Interview with Helmi Yusof - 'Sepet' director Yasmin Ahmad (Pt 1) at 8 Min 43 Sec - Published 25 July 2013 (Original Interview from 2008/2009) - Archive

About Yasmin Ahmad

• It's rare to find a woman filmmaker in Muslim society, and even rarer when she is an outspoken talent unafraid of controversy.
  • By Roger Garcia (former director of the Hong Kong International Film Festival)
  • Reuters Article by Jalil Hamid - Malaysian filmmaker struggles with hardline Islam - 29 June 2007 - Archive
  • Yasmin Ahmad retrospective at the Honolulu Academy of Arts hosted by CSEAS (Center for Southeast Asian Studies, University of Hawai`i) - Interview with Malyasian Filmmaker Yasmin Ahmad (with Wimal Dissanayake) in Section: Description - 2007 Spring - Archive
• Ahmad's films are deeply inspired by the Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu and display scenes of everyday life with a depth of emotion. The Yasmin Ahmad retrospective was a unique opportunity for the people of Hawaii to hear stories from a part of the world that often goes underreported here in the west.
  • By Paul Rausch (Associate Director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, University of Hawai`i)
  • Yasmin Ahmad retrospective at the Honolulu Academy of Arts hosted by CSEAS (Center for Southeast Asian Studies, University of Hawai`i) - Interview with Malyasian Filmmaker Yasmin Ahmad (with Wimal Dissanayake) in Section: Description - 2007 Spring - Archive
• There is something very important we have to realize and understand from Yasmin's commercials; something that reminds us that we're actually made of the same blood. We are all the same: boy or girl, women or men, women's rights or men's rights. There's no difference; ultimately we're all human and we all have rights. Her commercials allow us to reflect on that common ground.
  • By Sharifah Amani (Malaysian director and actress)
  • Japan Foundation Asia Center - ASIA HUNDREDS Interview by Kenji Ishizaka (Programming Director, Asian Future, The Tokyo International Film Festival) - SHARIFAH AMANI――Time with Yasmin Ahmad and the New Wave in Malaysian Film - 27 October 2017 - Archive
• A filmmaker who could take on serious topics such as racism and intolerance with wit, intelligence and humour, who documented and celebrated Malaysian multiculturalism, exploring its taboos with compassion.
  • By Tilman Baumgärtel (German author, media theorist, and journalist)
  • Sister-hood Digital Magazine Article - Yasmin Ahmad 1958-2009 - 10 June 2020 - Archive