AWARD winning director, Areel Abu Bakar debuted his second film titled Walid at Cinema Village in New York from July 28 to August 3 and will continue his debut at Leammle Glendale, Los Angeles from August 11 to 17.
Kedah born Areel saw the success of his first film Geran (Silat Warriors: Deed of Death) and now Layar Pictures proudly announces another action film - Walid to the world.
The American debut marks Areel’s talent in making movies and taking them to a global audience. Walid is a film that highlights the importance of education as some members of society are denied basic education rights.
Apart from highlighting the rights to education, Walid also depicts a critical issue of human trafficking where children are exploited to become a commodity in the global black market.
In Walid, Megat Sharizal plays the main lead, depicting a kind and dedicated teacher who voluntarily teaches underprivileged children in a village. After a few of Walid’s students went missing, he went on a search for them only to learn that the students were abducted by a large network of human trafficking syndicates.
To Walid, every child’s life matters. Hence, with the help of some good friends, they hunt the kidnappers.
Will they track down the kidnappers? Are his students still alive? Curious about the plot, then wait for the Malaysian premiere on Sept 14 coming to cinemas near you.
This film features a cast of talented actors such as Namron, Putri Qaseh Izwandy, Yusran Hashim, Khoharullah Majid, Feiyna Tajuddin, Fad Anuar, Taiyuddin Bakar and many more.
Again, Areel Abu Bakar has entrusted his team of Malaysian Silat martial artists to perform all the action sequences.
The action actors are well-trained Silat practitioners and experts in weapon combat. Walid presents almost an hour of back to back Silat action to the audience.
Why the one hour back to back Silat you ask? It is to symbolise the tirelessly long and ongoing fight against human trafficking by the authorities and respected agencies.
There is no doubt that action-packed films are among the genres that have become a favorite of viewers not only in Malaysia, but worldwide.
“So, Layar Pictures is trying to provide an opportunity for martial arts activists to join the film industry. This is one of our ways to introduce Malaysian culture and heritage to the international level,” said Areel.
Meanwhile, one of the main actors, Namron, stated that among the factors he agreed to star in the film was because of the interesting storyline.
According to him, he also sees Areel as a very talented director and able to produce a film that satisfies the tastes of the audience.
“Working under the direction of Areel for me, he is a calm director, but has the spirit of a Malay warrior who never gives up,“ he said.
Certainly, the debut of a Malaysian made film in the United States is an inspiration to all upcoming Malaysian filmmakers out there.
Areel’s story is one of hope and expectation, that if you preserve, think outside the box and work hard, success is inevitable.
We wish Areel all the success in his future movie making endeavors!
Here’s a snippet of Areel thanking his fans at Cinema Village, New York.
