WHAT DO (a) a family living in a speculative, segregated Malaysia; (b) two brothers squeezed into a Pudu flat and; (c) a woman of royalty who owns an art gallery, all have in common?
Actually, more than you would think.
These are the protagonists of three Malaysian films released last year: Pendatang (directed by Ng Ken Kin), Abang Adik (directed by Jin Ong) and Maryam Pagi Ke Malam (directed by Badrul Hisham Ismail). It would be reductive to view them only through a political lens—yet it is interesting to note a common thread: each film explores the ways in which individuals survive, navigate or challenge the socio-legal systems they are trapped in.
