Dayang (2023 film)
| Dayang | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Rudolf Jati |
| Written by | Ludwig Teh |
| Screenplay by | Ludwig Teh |
| Starring | Karl Hijau Kersani Jumaat Mayang Tuah |
Production company | Studio Hanabi |
Release dates |
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Running time | 128 mins |
| Country | Penduk |
| Language | Pelangi |
Dayang is a 2023 drama film directed by Rudolf Jati and written by Ludwig Teh. The film features Karl Hijau in the starring role, with co-billing shared by Kersani Jumaa and Mayang Tuah. The film is the third theatrical collaboration between Jati and Teh, and the second to feature Hijau in the leading role. Dayang was produced by Penduk film studio, Studio Hanabi, and debuted at the 84th Montecara Film Festival on 24 October 2023. The story follows an underemployed graduate who finds himself returning to his hometown to serve as the administrator of his late uncle's estate. Having left the village in his youth, he finds himself caught between his urban existence and his rural past, with tensions heightened as he is required to operate the ailing family fishing business.
Synopsis
Tam Awang (Hijau) despite having graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Federal University, Bandaburu finds himself unable to find post-graduate employment, and instead supports himself by working as a waiter and bartender, almost exclusively on night shifts. With his days mostly unoccupied, he splits his time between drinking with similarly underemployed friends from his days in university and playing slot machines in smoking-friendly gaming parlors. One day, while on a winning streak during the latter, he receives a telephone call from Reinhardt Intan (Jumaat), a childhood friend, who informs him that his uncle has passed away. As his uncle left no will, and he is his sole next of kin, Tam has both inherited his estate and is expected to serve as administrator as per the rules of intestacy. Somewhat reluctantly, Tam returns to his hometown in Gelamutam.
[inn]. While reviewing the estate's assets while eating dinner at the bar, Tam discovers that his uncle was functionally insolvent, only owning the family's fishing business and the trawler from which it was conducted, the eponymous Dayang. Tam concludes that his uncle must have been living on the boat, having sold his house to a short-term homestay operator. Questioning the wisdom of his uncle's decision, noting the ailing nature of the family business, Tam queries aloud to Suria why his uncle would make such decisions, to which she responds, "Sometimes, all a man has left is his pride."
Cast
Production
Teh originally wrote the screenplay for what would become Dayang in 2016, prior to his first theatrical writing credit, but was unable to sell the script to any interested parties. Following the success of Studio Hanabi produced Kita Yang Kekal and Os Ingovernáveis, projects which Teh wrote and Jati directed, the studio expressed interest in a third project from the duo. Whilst initially conceived as a Bahasa Subag language film, owing to Teh's own heritage, Jati convinced Teh that the themes of familial obligation and urban-rural divide were applicable to Penduk as a whole, and the setting was changed as to allow for the film to be produced in Pelangi. This final draft went into pre-production in late 2021, with filming commencing in February of 2022. Much of the main cast had previously worked with Teh and Jati in Os Ingovernáveis, with the remainder of the casting process finalised by December 2021.
Filming took place on location in the village of Pelbuma in the Gelamutam Governorate, with production making use of locals as both extras and in behind-camera roles. Filming wrapped in July 2022, with post-production editing taking place between August 2022 and December 2022.
The film was initially scheduled for a domestic release on 14 April 2023, but this was delayed in favour of submission to the Montecara Film Festival, the first Pendukese film in over a decade to be submitted for consideration. The domestic release was pushed back to November 2022, following the festival's conclusion, with international distribution rights not yet sold.