Malaysian festival celebrating food, fashion, films and books of Kuala Lumpur reveals the city’s stories in layers
- The Klwknd festival, part of Art In The City, runs from November 25 to 28 and aims to bring people back together after 18 months of misery
- Performances, pop-up markets, walking tours and lots more are designed to capture the bustling spirit of an ever-changing city
Malaysian filmmaker Amir Muhammad has compiled a video essay looking back at four popular films from the 1970s and ’80s that tell stories of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s capital.
“It’s not about archiving, but rather how we look at these films in 2021 and what they say about us,” Amir says. “More importantly, what do they not say about us? What do they not show?”
All four films have the word “tomorrow” in their title and Amir hopes the video essay, titled Tomorrow, Tomorrow, Tomorrow… and Tomorrow, encourages viewers to look back in time and find things anew.
“That’s what a city is, in the stories it tells. Every story is a journey of the city,” he says.
The video essay was commissioned for the Klwknd (“Kuala Lumpur weekend”) festival, a key programme of the three-month Art In The City initiative organised by Malaysia’s Cultural Economy Development Agency (Cendana). The festival, which runs from November 25 to 28, aims to bring people back together after a tumultuous 18 pandemic months through food, fashion, films and books.