Perspective Film Series:
Pendatang (2017), dir. Ng Ken Kin
November 24
5:30 PM
Dome Theatre
2017 | Malaysia | 98 mins
Produced by Kuman Pictures in collaboration with Tapir Films, Pendatang (2017) tells the story of a Cantonese-speaking Chinese family forced to move to a rural kampong (village) following the implementation of the fictional Segregation Act in Malaysia, which enforces strict racial segregation among the country’s ethnic groups. As they confront the challenges of adapting to unfamiliar surroundings, each character grapples with their past and the harsh realities of their present.
Pendatang was entirely crowdfunded. Director Ng Ken Kin expressed concerns that the Film Censorship Board might not have approved the movie for local release.
This film is in Cantonese, Malay, and Tamil with English subtitles.
The screening will be followed by a moderated conversation and Q&A with Dr. Yoke-Sum Wong, Associate Professor of Liberal Studies at the Alberta University of the Arts (AUArts).
Disclaimer: This film contains difficult subject matter and imagery, including violence and nudity, which may be triggering for some viewers.
Sunday, November 24
Doors: 5:00 PM
Screening: 5:30 PM
FREE for members. Non-members: $10—your ticket to this screening includes admission to Contemporary Calgary. Our galleries are open from 12-5 PM for viewing prior to attending the program.
About the Speaker
Dr. Yoke-Sum Wong is an Associate Professor in the School of Critical and Creative Studies at AUArts. Her background is in history and sociology, with a focus on cultural histories and historiography. Having written on postcolonial built environments in Singapore and Malaysia, and architecture and design (including the eurocentrism of the mid-century modern and Isamu Noguchi), she is now working on a new project on the contemporary Asian cultural reckoning with a post-World War II conflict called The Malayan Emergency and the Cold War in the Global South.
About the Curator:
Muriel N. Kahwagi ((she/her)) is a writer and curator, working primarily across publishing and programming. Her research is centered on the politics of collecting and archiving the performative; and the act of listening as a form of preservation in and of itself. In 2023, she was the TD Curatorial Fellow at Art Windsor-Essex, and a curator as part of Vtape’s Curatorial Incubator, v.19. She is currently the Assistant Curator at Contemporary Calgary, and a programmer at the Toronto Arab Film Festival.
