Storytelling, Place, and Cultural Resilience in the Award-Winning Film Tegkang
Key information
- Date
- Time
-
10:00 am to 11:30 am
- Venue
- Online
- Event type
- Seminar
About this event
Join us for a captivating exploration of cinema, culture, and community through the lens of the acclaimed Malaysian feature film, Tegkang.
This seminar will feature a moderated discussion led by Shalini Amerasinghe Ganendra (Research Associate, Centre of South East Asian Studies) with Tegkang’s Director, Josh Nawan and Producer, Lyn Nasihin, focusing on the film’s creative process, cultural inspirations, and making-of insights, followed by an open Q&A.
More than a cinematic triumph, Tegkang is a landmark in contemporary Malaysian cinema, capturing audiences locally and internationally. It prompts profound reflection on the intersections of film, community, and cultural continuity. By tracing Indigenous identity, rural transformation, and the poetics of place, the film sparks dialogue across multiple disciplines.
Registration
This event free, open to the public, and held online only.
Organiser
Organised by the SOAS Centre of South East Asian Studies.
Cultural Pulses in Dialogue Seminar Series
This interdisciplinary seminar series explores the deep connections between creative expression and the shifting political and social landscapes of Southeast Asia. Designed to be accessible in content, language, and approach, without compromising academic depth, the seminars invite participants from all backgrounds to consider creativity as a powerful mode of inquiry, critique, and engagement in a rapidly changing region.
Contact
About the filmmakers
Josh Nawan, Director, is an award-winning Sarawakian filmmaker whose work bridges Indigenous storytelling, cinematic innovation, and cultural memory. Born in a longhouse village in rural Sarawak, he draws creative inspiration from his upbringing in close-knit Indigenous communities and the landscapes of Borneo. After earning a degree in Film & Animation, he entered the production industry and quickly rose from assistant to producer and writer. His first short film script Andy & Violet won the Malaysian Short Film Script Competition (2013), and his feature script Our Rainbow became a Madrid International Film Festival finalist before evolving into Tegkang.
Lyn Nasihin, Producer, has been deeply invested in Tegkang. She has spoken passionately about bringing to screen a culturally rich and emotionally resonant story rooted in the lives of the Kelabit people in Bario, Sarawak. Lyn was drawn to the film’s themes of love, freedom, and promise, and she helped guide the production with a commitment to authenticity, even using a cast that was 99% local Kelabit actors.
About the moderator
Shalini Amerasinghe Ganendra is a Research Associate at the SOAS Centre of South East Asian Studies. She is a cultural strategist, curator, and scholar whose work bridges art, heritage, and intercultural dialogue. She has curated landmark exhibitions and authored publications that explore the interplay of tradition, modernity, and cultural resilience.
Her publication, Veins of Influence, developed and explored the inter-disciplinary consideration of early colonial photography offering an analytical tool that has wide applicability, including to the analysis of film. She has curated over 100 exhibitions and developed public programming with a view to supporting a culture of encounter curiosity and deeper understanding.
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