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#Showbiz: A most challenging 2020

WITHOUT a shadow of a doubt, the year that was the culmination of Vision 2020 had been an unprecedented one due to the unfortunate onset of the global Covid-19 pandemic.

With the Movement Control Order enforced in mid-March, activities practically grounded to a halt for the most part and many sectors including the entertainment industry were drastically affected.

Shows and concerts were quickly cancelled and arts venues such as Istana Budaya, Dewan Filharmonik Petronas and the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre were closed.

Cinemas were also shuttered as the number of coronavirus cases and deaths continued to increase, which also upended the global film industry as productions were halted.

A significant number of local artistes and arts practitioners saw their livelihood cut off due to the lockdown and were struggling to carry on.

The government's aid in the form of the Economic Recovery Plan (Penjana) served to provide a balm and it was extremely heartening to see many celebrities such as Datuk Seri Siti Nurhaliza Tarudin and Noor Neelofa Mohd Noor using the online and social media platforms to conduct charity work and to highlight small local businesses to the public.

NEW NORMAL ONLINE

Artistes also took the opportunity to embrace the new normal in entertaining the public at home and to pay tribute to the army of frontliners risking their lives to keep the country safe by performing online via YouTube, Zoom, Facebook Live and the like.

Aside from free events such as ensemble recitals by the Orkestra RTM and the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, there were also paid streaming concerts like Konsert Wings Kita Merdeka 2020 in conjunction with Malaysia's Independence Day celebrations and the recent Yuna Live at the Aquaria KLCC.

The online platform also played a vital role for the performing arts sector to raise funds with the likes of Instant Cafe Theatre streaming productions of Parah and Nadirah and KLPAC presenting a quarantine edition of Indicinelive.

Enfiniti, which is responsible for the massively popular Puteri Gunung Ledang musical and film, also unveiled its own online video streaming platform for musicals, theatre performances, concerts and comedies.

In September, Gerak Angin, spearheaded by Masa Kini Theatre, became the country's first virtual arts festival that featured 205 creative individuals in 17 diverse Malaysian cultural and traditional productions.

This year marked the first time ever that awards event Anugerah Bintang Popular Berita Harian was held without a live audience.

The 33rd edition of ABPBH, which took place last month and adhered to strict standard operating procedures, garnered a record six million viewers who watched the show on TV3, in addition to another 700,000 views on YouTube.

With cinemas still mostly shuttered, fans of local movies turned to online cinema platform ewayang.com which was established during the MCO and has been increasing its roster of movies.

Many have also utilised online video streaming services such as Netflix and Apple TV+ among others to enjoy their entertainment while at home.

The significant increase in adoption by the masses has spurned these video streaming companies to come up with new solutions.

For example, Netflix has launched a Google Chrome browser extension, dubbed Netflix Party, which enables a viewer to chat and watch content with friends online at the same time.

BIG ACHIEVEMENTS

In a surprising twist, Mael Totey The Movie has become the bestselling film of the year so far, raking in over RM7 million in collections after taking the small screen route via Astro First in October.

The popular comedy, which also highlighted persons with disabilities in it, was helmed by first-time director Muhammad Syahmi Sazli, 25, and produced at a cost of RM400,000.

It was recently reported that the National Film Development Corporation (Finas) would be honouring Muhammad Syahmi with a Young Director Icon award at a ceremony to appreciate film achievers early next year.

In October, it was also revealed that Disney's popular Star Wars spin-off series, The Mandalorian, had a Malaysian connection.

Part of the visual effects in Season 2 of the show was done by Kuala Lumpur-based international VFX studio Base Digital Production which also employs local talent.

This was made possible by support from the Communications and Multimedia Ministry and Finas, as well as the Film In Malaysia Incentive (FIMI).

Through FIMI, the Malaysian government awards international production studios with a 30 per cent subsidy for all expenditures made in Malaysia, from filming to post-production activities.

Base Digital Production has also worked on the visual effects for many other Hollywood productions including Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker, Marvel movies and the Netflix action thriller 6 Underground which stars Ryan Reynolds.

In November, director Edmund Yeo's new film Malu was screened in Japan.

Yeo, the first Malaysian to win Best Director at the Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) 2017 for his film Aqerah, was invited to premiere Malu at the 33rd TIFF.

Malu, which tells the story of two close friends who reunite in adulthood after separating during their pre-teens, was screened in 10 cinemas in Tokyo, Fukuoka and Osaka.

Another local filmmaker, Chong Keat Aun, also did the country proud by winning Best New Director for his film The Story Of Southern Islet at the 2020 Golden Horse Awards which took place in Taipei, Taiwan last month.

The tear-jerker drama showcases the uniqueness of the Hokkien, Malay and Siamese cultures found at the Kedah-Thai border. It was also honoured Best Film by the Network For The Promotion Of Asia Pacific Cinema (NETPAC) and the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI).

The Story Of Southern Islet won Best Film at the Istanbul Film Awards in Turkey as well.

Rock queen Ella's iconic song Standing In The Eyes Of The World was back in the news this year, after Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari joined her for a special performance during Malaysia Day in September.

They recorded a viral music video which showed Amirudin displaying his rapping skills while performing with Ella, VE singer Lah Ahmad and a few Selangor state assemblymen.

Standing In The Eyes Of The World, composed by Datuk Wah Idris with lyrics by Habsah Hassan and American singer-songwriter David Gates of Bread fame, was at first performed solely by Ella for the Commonwealth Games 1998.

On July 4, the United States Embassy here celebrated US Independence Day by producing a special music video featuring Ella and several Malaysian and American singers and musicians performing the song.

The video featured several alumni of American Music Abroad programmes, an annual US government-sponsored exchange that sends dozens of American musicians around the world.

In July, too, composer Wah received the Brand Laureate World Best Brands E-Branding Award 2020, for the success of Standing In The Eyes Of The World.

NEW BEGINNINGS

Malaysian Idol 1 champ Jaclyn Victor, who saw her six-year marriage to American singer Shawn Rivera of Az Yet end in January, became a single mother of two children aged 3 and 5.

This, however, did not deter her from moving on, when she opened her very own restaurant, BATS in Bangsar Baru, Kuala Lumpur in June.

Hip-hop guru Joe Flizzow also came up with his very own burger brand, Joe's Burger, in collaboration with food company Meals In Minutes in August.

Certified halal and made from healthy ingredients, Joe's Burger was his childhood dream.

The rapper, who is managing director of Def Jam South East Asia, was inspired to come up with it because a school teacher had warned him that he might be cooking burgers for a living if he chose hip hop as a career.

Joe, whose real name is Johan Ishak, also got married to artist and businesswoman Marini Ramlan in June after postponing the event from April due to the pandemic.

There were two pre-Covid-19 weddings that took place in February — actress Emma Maembong got hitched to pilot Muhammad Shazli Azhar, and celebrity couple Aiman Hakim Redza and Zahirah Macwilson made headlines with their splendid eight-tier upside down "chandelier" wedding cake.

But the pandemic did not stop popular actress and TV host Mira Filzah from tying the knot with architect Wan Emir Astar during a modest yet elegant event attended by 250 guests at the Sime Darby Convention Centre, Kuala Lumpur on Sept 3.

Part of the nikah ceremony was aired live on TV3 and the reception held at Le Meridien, Putrajaya the following day was also featured on the entertainment show Melodi.

TV host and successful entrepreneur Neelofa put months of speculation on her relationship status to rest last month after it was reported that she had gotten engaged with PU Riz a.k.a. Muhammad Haris Mohd Ismail. The couple plan to get married in March next year.

From marriages to births, celebrity power couple Fattah Amin and wife Nur Fazura Sharifuddin welcomed their first baby, Nur Fatima Aisya Abdul Fattah, on Oct 2.

Actress Fasha Sandha also gave birth to a baby girl, Aisha Amaira Mohd Aidil, in August.

This is her first child with husband Aidil Aziz who she married last year in March. Fasha has two other kids from her first marriage.

Malaysia's top singer Siti Nurhaliza created a joyful stir when it was recently announced that she would be delivering her second child, a boy, sometime in April next year.

It was hinted that her soon-to-be-born son would have "Mohamad" in his name, followed by another that starts with the letter A.

SEARCHING FOR CLOSURE

Like any other year, 2020 was punctuated by a series of celebrity deaths and the entertainment world bid farewell to some major icons of Hollywood as well as Malaysia.

Topping the list of international artistes was British screen legend Sir Sean Connery, who rose to fame playing Ian Fleming's popular British secret agent James Bond, Agent 007 in a total of seven films beginning with Dr No (1962).

Connery died in his sleep aged 90 on Oct 31, and was the first man to play 007 in Eon Productions' James Bond film series.

The award-winning actor's other well-known films included Marnie, The Name Of The Rose, The Untouchables, The Man Who Would Be King, Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade and Entrapment which was filmed in Kuala Lumpur in 1999.

Connery was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom in 2000 for his services to film drama.

Another major loss was Chadwick Boseman, the star of the groundbreaking superhero movie Black Panther. The 43-year-old actor succumbed to colon cancer on Aug 28 after battling the disease for four years.

Boseman, who played the titular superhero King T'Challa of the fictional African country of Wakanda, was adored by critics and audiences.

Marvel-produced Black Panther from 2018 became the first comic book film to be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars.

Earlier in his career, Boseman played African-American icons Jackie Robinson in 42 and James Brown in Get On Up.

Some of the other international artistes who died included rock guitar icon Eddie Van Halen (Oct 6, aged 65), rock and roll legend Little Richard (May 9, aged 87), Glee actress Naya Rivera (July 13, aged 33), actress Kelly Preston and wife of John Travolta (July 12, aged 57), Sir Ian Holm of Lord Of The Rings fame (June 19, aged 89), country singer Kenny Rogers (March 20, aged 81), Slumdog Millionaire star Irrfan Khan (April 29, aged 53) and Indonesian singer Glenn Fredly (April 8, aged 44).

Two of the biggest names amongst local celebrities who died this year were comedian Abam of Bocey and Indonesian-based actor Ashraf Sinclair.

Abam or Syed Umar Mokhtar Al-Juffrey died of an illness aged 32 on Feb 10. Abam rose to fame as a member of comedy troupe Bocey which he formed with his friends Nasir Hamzah or Achey and Fadzlie Nizam or Fad in the 2013 TV3 comedy search Bintang Mencari Bintang.

Ashraf, the star of films such as Gol Dan Gincu, Saus Kacang and Proksi died of a heart attack in Jakarta on Feb 18, aged 40.

Ashraf was one half of a celebrity power couple — his widow is Indonesian actress and singer Bunga Citra Lestari. They have a 10-year-old son Noah Aidan Sinclair.

Ashraf was also the elder brother of radio announcer and television host Aishah Sinclair and filmmaker Adam Sinclair, and the brother-in-law of US-based singer-songwriter Yuna.

Some other local celebrities who died this year included composer A. Ali (Nov 21, aged 71), veteran actor Idris Md Diah (Sept 14, aged 61), singer Sandra Dianne Ampuria (Sept 10, aged 26), veteran actor Datuk Zulkifli Zain (Sept 5, aged 76), veteran actor Abu Bakar Juah (Aug 15, aged 72), director Yusof Kelana (Aug 15, aged 66) and veteran newscaster Farit Ismeth Emir (April 20, aged 66).

With the Covid-19 pandemic showing no signs of abating anytime soon, the future is still filled with many uncertainties in the entertainment world.

Only time will tell if there will be any proper closure to this regrettable circumstance but life goes on and so will 2021.

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