KUALA LUMPUR: Romcom drama series Tilit-Tilit Cinta (Spying Your Love) has become the first series utilising the Sarawak dialect to be streamed on Netflix.
The news was announced during a launch event attended by 100 guests at TGV cinema in Vivacity Megamall here recently.
Produced by Vian Media and distributed by MyContent Distribution, the 13-episode drama series which begins streaming on Netflix today was adapted from the original theatre play, Latiff Vs Maryam, by Arshad Adam.
The production of the Sarawakian series was made possible with the help of the National Film Development Corporation's (Finas) Digital Content Grant Fund (DKD).
Tilit-Tilit Cinta was one of nine recipients of the DKD via the TVS Pitch It Series 1/2020 programme.
The drama, which initially aired on TVS, Astro Channel 122 and MYTV from Oct 9 to Nov 21 last year, also features lots of talent from Sarawak.
Directed by Josh Nawan, it revolves around the romantic and comedic love story of its two main characters, Ujang and Merry, played by Haziq Fadhullah and Dee Dee A'iene respectively.
The show also stars Kahar Jini, Yana Melanos and Javenson Serit, while its theme soundtrack, If You Don't Love Me Now was composed by Farouk Kamil and performed by Steff Fleur.
The launch event was attended by Finas Sarawak chief assistant director Maffizan Saupie, TVS acting CEO Rizal Zulkapli, MyContent Distribution managing director Lyn Nasihin and Vian Media executive producer Jason Chong.
"Our goal at MyContent Distribution is to expand the creative content industry in Malaysia by distributing local creative content to global streaming platforms," said Lyn in a statement.
The Sarawakian added that this was aimed at encouraging local production companies to produce more works that can be marketed to international audiences, such as Tilit-Tilit Cinta.
Meanwhile, Finas COO Professor Dr Md Nasir Ibrahim said: "Finas very much welcomes productions that can be brought to the global stage."
He added: "The efforts of MyContent Distribution to market Tilit-Tilit Cinta to Netflix is a praiseworthy initiative and should be emulated by other local production companies."
"This proves that Malaysian creative content practitioners possess uniqueness and versatility, suitable for the viewing public in every part of the world.
"By utilising the Sarawak dialect in full and showcasing the sociocultural diversity in this country, we are confident that Tilit-Tilit Cinta will capture the hearts of viewers," he said.
Rizal said that the TVS Pitch-It Series 2/2022 programme is currently open for submissions until Oct 20 this year and urged local creative content industry practitioners to send in their ideas and pitches.