Yasmin Ahmad

Yasmin Ahmad was a Malaysian film director, writer and scriptwriter who was known for her humorous and touching stories that crossed cultural and religious boundaries. She was also the executive creative director at Leo Burnett Kuala Lumpur, where she produced many memorable commercials for clients such as Petronas, the national oil and gas company. Her works have won multiple awards both within Malaysia and internationally, and have been screened at various film festivals such as Berlin, San Francisco, Singapore and Cannes. She was also a central figure of the "first" New Wave of Malaysian cinema, along with other independent filmmakers such as Amir Muhammad and James Lee. Yasmin was born in Kampung Bukit Treh in Muar, Johor, on 7 January 1958. She was the oldest of three children of a musician father and a theatre director mother. She graduated in arts majoring in politics and psychology from Newcastle University in England, and worked as a trainee banker and a marketing representative for IBM before joining the advertising industry. She started as a copywriter at Ogilvy & Mather and then moved to Leo Burnett as a joint creative director with Ali Mohammed, eventually rising to executive creative director at the firm's Kuala Lumpur branch. Yasmin made her first feature-length film, Rabun, in 2003, based on the story of her parents. She followed it with five more films: Sepet (2004), Gubra (2006), Mukhsin (2007), Muallaf (2008) and Talentime (2009). All of her films featured recurring characters from the same fictional family, such as Orked, a Malay girl who falls in love with a Chinese boy in Sepet, and her parents Mak Inom and Pak Atan. Yasmin's films often dealt with themes such as love, family, inter-racial and inter-religious relationships, social issues and spirituality. She also incorporated elements of humour, poetry, music and Malay culture in her films. Her films were highly controversial in Malaysia due to their depiction of events and relationships that were considered "forbidden" by social conservatives and hard-line interpretations of Islam. Some of her films were banned or censored by the authorities, while others received criticism and threats from certain groups. However, her films also received praise and support from many Malaysians who appreciated her honest and humanistic portrayal of Malaysian society. Yasmin passed away on 25 July 2009 at the age of 51, after suffering a stroke and a brain haemorrhage. She was buried at the Muslim Cemetery in Subang Jaya, Selangor, the next day. Her husband, Abdullah Tan Yew Leong, their immediate families, hundreds of fans, friends, and industry colleagues and personalities gathered to bid her farewell. Tributes poured in from various quarters, including the Prime Minister of Malaysia, the Sultan of Perak, local and international celebrities, filmmakers, media and the public. She was posthumously honoured with several awards and recognitions, such as the Malaysian Advertising Hall of Fame, the Merdeka Award, the Google Doodle and a commemorative museum in Ipoh. Her legacy lives on through her films and commercials, which continue to inspire and touch many people around the world.