MALAYSIAN production company 42nd Pictures Sdn Bhd will be holding a Road Trip screening event for its latest film, magiK.
The special screenings will take place selected locations across the country for about two months starting from today, before the the film's theatrical release on Nov 30.
The film's director and screenwriter, Yasu Tanaka, and his wife and producer, Bea Tanaka, say the Road Trip screenings are a way to share magiK with more local audiences from rural areas.
The fantasy and family drama features an ensemble cast of talented actors that include Beto Kusyairy, Nadia Aqilah, Nam Ron, Ruminah Sidek, Roy Azman, Kamarul Eqifshah and Qisya Hairulzain.
Aside from non-urban communities, the film will also be screened for the deaf community.
The Road Trip screenings' version of magiK will have closed captions in Malay for their benefit.
"magiK is about village life and villagers in Kampung Kuantan, Kuala Selangor, and we would like to share it with part of our target audience who are outside of urban areas through this Road Trip screening concept.
"We are very grateful to PORT Ipoh, which is sponsoring the venue and screenings in Ipoh. For the screenings there, we are working with Persatuan Orang Pekak Perak (POPP) to reach out to the deaf community.
"We also invited some special education schools in Ipoh, working closely with Perak State Education Department," says Bea.
Yasu adds that "Bea was a teacher for the deaf for 15 years and has good connections with the deaf community."
He explains that magiK, which tells the story of a deaf girl who can communicate with fireflies, is also an invitation to the audience to see and experience the deaf community in a positive way.
The new movie is Yasu's second film after Nota, released in 2015.
The filmmaker had experienced a screening of Nota carried out in "wayang pacak" style in 2017, which was organised by Komuniti Filem Titiwangsa (Komfit).
"Pak Hassan Abd Muthalib was the moderator at that time. That inspired us to do something similar for magiK this time.
"That is why one of the screenings for this Road Trip will be done following the wayang pacak concept, in Terengganu.
"We look forward to communicating closely with the local audience," says Yasu.
He adds that magiK is the result of two ideas coming together: Bea's connection to the deaf community, as well as his interest in nature.
"These two ideas have been used to create a story about a deaf girl who can communicate with the fireflies.
"We hope that more people can join us for these special screenings of magiK, which is suitable for families and people of all ages," says Yasu.
The Road Trip screenings will take place in seven locations this month and next month.
It is set to begin at Warung Adri in Kuantan, Pahang, today followed by Pantai Telaga Papan in Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, on Sept 23 and Space08000 in Sungai Petani, Kedah, on Sept 29.
The screening in Terengganu will be by the beach using the wayang pacak concept.
The rest of the screenings will be at YMCA KL (Oct 1), YMCA Penang (Oct 7) and PORT Ipoh in Perak (Oct 14 & 15).
These three locations will involve the deaf community, with the YMCA KL session being part of the International Day of the Deaf celebration.
The Road Trip will end with a screening at Embrace Hall in Johor Baru in Johor on Oct 20.
magiK centres on a 7-year-old deaf girl named Kit who lives in a small village in Kuala Selangor, which is famous for its firefly habitat.
Her parents, who have normal hearing, struggle with their financial situation as her father is a boatman taking tourists on the firefly tour.
Kit's mother wants her to learn sign language and go to school but the young girl is not brave enough to communicate with people.
She tends to live in her own world, preferring to be surrounded by nature.
One day, Kit encounters a firefly that appears to communicate with her by flashing and flying in a certain manner.
For more details on the screenings, visit www. 42ndpictures.com and the YouTube Channel (42nd Pictures), as well as TikTok, Instagram (@magikthemovie) and Facebook (42nd Pictures).