Malaysia's Tamil film 'Bleat!' first short to compete at Cannes

Summary

• ‘Bleat!’ is the first Malaysian Tamil short film to compete at the Cannes Film Festival.

• Producer Choo Mun Bel announces the film's selection for the Cannes Critics Week.

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"Bleat!" is now the first Malaysian short film to compete at the Cannes Film Festival.

In a statement on Instagram, producer Choo Mun Bel announced the film's selection for the Cannes Critics Week (‘Semaine de la Critique’).

"A heartfelt thank you to the selection committees for believing in our big goat and giving it the chance to shine on one of the world’s most prestigious stages," he said.

The film is an exploration of Malaysian Tamil cultural identity in the comedy-drama-fantastic genre.

It revolves around an elderly conservative Tamil couple who discover that the male goat they picked for ceremonial slaughter is pregnant.

Questions about identity

Film writer and director Ananth Subramaniam told Variety that the story comes from his own questions about his identity as a local Tamil.

“I’ve always had an inescapable feeling about my Malaysian-Tamil culture.

“Growing up, especially during those awkward puberty years, I wrestled with questions about who I was and where I fit in

“So, I turned myself into a goat and threw myself into the middle of all that inevitability - and somehow, that became a film about what makes being Malaysian-Tamil so special," he said.

The film was produced by Choo's Sixtymac Pictures along with the Philippines' Epicmedia Productions and France's DW Production.

It stars Tharmasegaran Maniam, Pannerselvam Evarani, and Dhanesh Alagarsu as well as goat, “Big Boy”.

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