KUALA LUMPUR: Syamsul Yusof's blockbuster film Mat Kilau: Kebangkitan Pahlawan has had a fan following from countries as far away as Germany and Israel, and he is "pleasantly surprised".
"This is amazing! I guess I'm among the happiest directors in the world now. I never expected Mat Kilau to have a following in countries like Germany and Israel, which seldom take notice of our films," said Syamsul in a news report today.
"Such positive feedback has given me a major confidence boost, that Malaysian films can really go far and win over the hearts of fans in the West."
Syamsul said that the German and Israeli fans who watched Mat Kilau after it became available on Netflix last Sept 12, told him that it was a "great action movie".
"They told me that Mat Kilau had great action scenes and also a great story," he said.
Mat Kilau was watched by 15 countries via Netflix and became the streaming service's fifth most watched non-English film between Sept 12 and 18. It was watched for 3,970,000 hours that week.
The film which stars Datuk Adi Putra made it to the top five of Netflix in Israel, according to online streaming service film chart FlixPatrol.
"This is a historical achievement for all Malaysian filmmakers and actors. Congratulations to my entire team, you've earned it!"
Syamsul said that the phenomenal success of Mat Kilau also "exerted pressure" on all filmmakers to "keep up the good work".
"It's going to be a challenge for me and all Malaysian directors to live up to the success of Mat Kilau. But I will do my best," said Syamsul.
Mat Kilau, based on the true story of a Malay warrior from Pahang who fought British colonialism in his home state, premiered in cinemas on June 23 and has since collected close to RM100 million at the box office.