In late-1990s Malaysia, amid political unrest, Hong Im, a widowed farmer and ritual healer, struggles to protect her family in a multi-ethnic rice-farming village. By day, she resists land seizures; by night, she heals and exorcises. As colonial-era conflicts resurface, strange events unfold: spirits return, black magic stirs, and a monk leads a buffalo. The legacy of empire haunts the land, the living, and the dead of Bujang Valley.
A Malaysian film director and screenwriter, as well as a community arts practitioner. In 2011, he became the first Malaysian Chinese broadcaster to win the Seri Angkasa National Award. His debut short film Cemetery of Courtesy (2017) was selected for competition in the Wide Angle section of the 22nd Busan International Film Festival. In 2018, his first feature project The Story of Southern Islet won the Content Digital Film Award at the Taipei Golden Horse Film Project Promotion. With The Story of Southern Islet (2020), Chong Keat Aun received the Best New Director Award at the Golden Horse Awards and the FIPRESCI Prize at the 45th Hong Kong International Film Festival. His subsequent film Snow in Midsummer (2023) received the Musa Cinema & Arts Award at the Venice International Film Festival, the Firebird Award for Best Film at the 48th Hong Kong International Film Festival, and the Uncaged Award for Best Feature Film at the 23rd New York Asian Film Festival. His latest work, Pavane for an Infant (2024), explores themes of women’s bodily autonomy. It competed in the Asian Future section at the 37th Tokyo International Film Festival and won the Youth Jury Award at the 39th Fribourg International Film Festival.
SunStrong Entertainment
Sure Honest Holdings Limited
AMTD Pictures Production Limited
Red Sea Fund
Volos Films Italia SRL
Southern Islet Pictures
Landscape Film Sdn Bhd
Berjaya Pictures Sdn Bhd
Fan Bingbing
Natalie Hsu
Bai Run-yin
Pearlly Chua
Written & Directed By: Chong Keat Aun
Director Of Photography: Leung Ming Kai (H.K.S.C)
Costume Design: Elaine Ng
Art Director: Soon Yong Chow
Editing Consultant: Walter Fasano
Editor: Eric Moh Original
Score: Yii Kah Hoe, Chong Keat Aun
Sound Design: Tu Du-Chih, Fiona Chang
Tokyo International Film Festival
Main Competition
