'BAKO' is an MMU Faculty of Cinematic Arts Final Year Project which explores the Dark Comedy/Drama theme in Malaysian cinema which will be done in a mixture of both Bahasa Malaysia and in Tamil.

Though presented through a Dark Comedy, BAKO will explore topics as death, depression and faith in religion. The film will be made with a facade that is comedic and funny, but will also touch on these topics to make audiences think about these taboos.
 

Character Conflict

The two characters in BAKO have completely different ideals as one, Bala, is a stonch believer of Hindu while another, Usop, is a man of lost faith. As they go through this supernatural incident of having a body not being able to burn, them having to work together forces their identities to clash.

Through the film, they try to figure out the reason of this incident while they try to retrieve the ashes of the body to be returned to nature as per the Hindu Belief.

Director's Statement

When I was 16 years old, I had lost faith in God and religion. It was not till 18 years old where I found back my faith in God after hearing a story that may or may not be true about Thomas Edison, in which a non-believer asks Edison who made the apparatus’ in his lab. Edison told him no one made them, they just appeared. But the non-believer did not buy the answer and said “there must be a creator to all these amazing creations”, to which Edison replied “there will always be a creator”. This story struck a personal note in me. The protagonist, Usop, reflects me and my journey finding back faith. Though my journey was not as tragic as Usop’s story, it is still something I can relate to.

My goal for this story is to deliver an entertaining character drama that will make the audience ask questions of their own beliefs, solidifying their beliefs and for the common audience, just a sense of satisfaction. It is important to me that all the members of the production are giving it their all. I do not like to push my vision and try to achieve it using my production crew’s talent. Instead, I would like to believe it is a collaborative efforts of different artists, trying to achieve the best possible outcome. That will be the outcome I am hoping to achieve.

                                                                                                                     - Thiyagu Govindan

THE CAST

BAKO is a film which requires much depth in acting as the characters have a compilation of emotions that needs to be pulled off, thus, we have decided to go the further to have the best actors that would suit the roles for our film.

We are extremely excited to have the Award Winning Mr. Wan Hanafi Su to be on board with us as Usop! 

WE NEED YOUR HELP

With all that, we need YOUR help to make this film a reality. 

The funds we receive from this crowdfunding will help us in covering the costs of:

1. THE CAST

• Funds will go to covering the payment of the actors for 4 days of shooting.
• Funds will cover the costs of extras on set for specific scenes.

2. PRODUCTION DESIGN

• Set Build. Due to sensitive reasons, we will not be shooting at an actual crematorium. Thus, we will be building a partial set for the crematorium at our shooting location. The funds will go to covering costs of materials.

3. LOGISTICS

• Accomodation. With the cast coming from KL to Johor, a homestay or hotel stay will be required for the period of the shooting. Funds will cover cost of stay.
• Catering. Food is essential on set to keep the whole cast and crew running happily and effeciently. Funds will cover catering for 4 Days for an estimated amount of 20 people.

4. EQUIPMENT RENTAL

• Camera & Lights. We will be needing some extra equipment to be rented to be able to achieve what our Director and Director of Photography wants. Funds will cover the costs of equipment rentals. 

5. POST PRODUCTION 

• Music. Our film will feature a traditional Tamil score to run in certain parts of the short film. This is to set the tone and setting of the film. Funds will cover the composer's fees.
• Marketing. We are making this film with the aim that it would travel to national and international film festivals. The funds received will be used to enter these film festivals and for the film to be able to be screened.

BUDGET BREAKDOWN

PRODUCTION TIMELINE

MEET THE CREW.

DIRECTOR - THIYAGU GOVINDAN

 'Passionate and proactive, striving to push the best out of self and the team.

 Limbo
 LA Cinefest Semi Finalist, San Mauro Film Festival Semi Finalist, Shorts Sendiri Selection, Johor Bahru International Film   Festival Film Selection,
MMU Awards Best Dialogue Short Film

 Sloth
 Rode Reel 2017 Entry

Noodle
MMU Awards Best Short Film

Hassan
Best Cinematography

PRODUCER, SOUND DESIGNER - JOEL LEE ZHEN ERN

 'Active, outgoing personality with the ability to put in hard work when expected. Perfectionist.'

 Limbo
 LA Cinefest Semi Finalist, San Mauro Film Festival Semi Finalist, JBIFF Selection,
MMU Awards Best Dialogue Short Film & Best Sound Design

Anak Wayang
MMU Awards Best New Modes
& Best Sound Design

Hassan (Documentary)
Balkan Can Kino Official Selection

Interned at Imaginex Studios'
Sound Design Team

WRITER, DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY - SHAZANA AZNAN

'Strives to achieve the best on screen as well as professionalism in a production.'

 Limbo
 LA Cinefest Semi Finalist, San Mauro Film Festival Semi Finalist, Shorts Sendiri Selection, Johor Bahru International Film   Festival Film Selection,
 MMU Awards Best Dialogue Short Film.

Noodle
MMU Awards Best Short Film

PRODUCTION DESIGNER - HARITH AZMI

'A great problem solver and a creative powerhouse'

 Don't Cut Trees
 Eco Film Festival Finalist, Nominated Best Animated Short Film, KLEFF

Coins, Sir?
Malaysia's Short Shorts Film selection

EDITOR - AISYAH MARDHIAH

'An aspiring film editor who loves to challenge herself in learning new skills so she can be among the best in the film industry.'

 Hidden Gems
 MMU Awards Best Documentary

Trainee at Hanmac Culture Group, South Korea

We are putting our best efforts and are constantly passionately working on this project. Through the funding, we would hopefully be able to cover the costs of the film. 

This is a film which explores taboos and touches topics that might be sensitive to certain individuals. However, we believe as a team that these issues need to be brought forth so as to shed light on the reality of some people.

We believe strongly in this film that it would be able to allow audiences to step in the shoes of people who have had their faith lost and also ask questions about their religion or lack of it.

We are very excited to have this film made!
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