First year students of the Advanced Diploma in Mass Communication (Public Relations) got together and organized a truly unforgettable exhibition. Compiling over 74 years of Malaysian film-fare and cinematic history under one theme, “Movieng Ahead – A Tribute to Malaysian Film Industry”, the three-day exhibition held from 15 to 17 August 2007 showcased some of the industry’s best loved actors and actresses in their most memorable roles.
The idea was to pay tribute and express our appreciation to these stellar legends and revered filmmakers for their creative hard work and contributions to the local cinematic film industry. Since achieving independence, Malaysia's film industry has been achieving a steady growth, albeit a low-key one. Classics and critically acclaimed films produced by our diverse and talented filmmakers, and extraordinary performances by legendary cast of actors and actresses, have throughout the years enriched our local cultural heritage and entertained regional and international audiences. Mention movies by the great P. Ramlee, Saloma, S. Samsudin and Aziz Satar, just to name a few, and legions of fans will attest that it was probably the golden years of the Malaysian film industry. No matter how many times we watch their films, the true-to-life character portrayals of tribulations faced by the rakyat in the 60s and 70s, sometimes their silly antics, and most of the time their mesmerizing songs still linger in our hearts and never fail to bring a smile to our faces.
To bring back a rush of nostalgic feelings to the visitors who thronged the exhibition, some of the booths were designed in a black and white façade. Visitors were treated to director's cut version of local epics such as Embun and Paloh, thought-provoking films by Yasmin Ahmad's Sepet, Gubra, Muallaf and Muskhsin, the heart-wrenching tale Hidden Summer in My Heart, in addition to local blockbusters such as Puteri Gunung Ledang and Diva. Visitors were also one of the pioneer batches in Malaysia treated to the internationally renowned local |
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director Tsai Ming-Liang's three-minute short film It's a Dream, which was shortlisted as one of 35 tribute films in the Cannes Celebratory 60th Film Festival.
The "Hall of Fame" booth attracted the most visitors during the exhibition. Ikhwan, one of the team members, commented, "It gave me a lot of hands-on experience in Public Relations as I had to liaise with many parties, such as FINAS which provided the display materials," he said. Ms Lim Siz Siz, the unit leader and events advisor of this exhibition, commented that the success demonstrated by the students showed that the students have been taught well in their Public Relations course in the College, especially in the Event Management coursework for their hands-on capabilities in planning, managing and hosting a well-organized 'real-life' event such as this large-scale exhibition. It is with this aim that all the courses in TAR College are tailored with the aspiration to produce and arm its graduates with not just theoretical knowledge but also practical competencies and soft skills attributes that will eventually give them an additional edge in the employment market.
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