SYMPATICO, a production partnership formed by Double Vision in Malaysia and Argo Films in the United Kingdom, is developing a busy slate of film and television projects that will signal a boost for international co-productions and the local film industry.
The company announced that the projects, unlike many others in the past, will feature more authentic Asian voices.
“Too often, Southeast Asia has been portrayed in a mix of styles on-screen with, for example, iconic establishing shots of Kuala Lumpur's Twin Towers soon giving way to a location that resembles Vietnam, mixed with Hong Kong by way of Vancouver,” Min Lim, head of production at Double Vision and a partner in Sympatico said to Variety.
Double Vision is the production arm of the Vision New Media group, which has over 35 years of experience in feature films, dramas, sitcoms, reality-game shows, magazine shows, documentaries, children's shows, and variety shows.
Double Vision has its own production and post-production facilities, was nominated for an International Emmy for its hit Malaysian-Filipino coproduction ‘Kahit Isang Saglit’, and was in charge of Asian versions of hit global drama series ‘The Bridge’ and ‘Liar’.
Argo was founded by Richard Johns, a veteran producer (‘Shadow of the Vampire’, ‘Like Minds’, and ‘The Calcium Kid’). Alongside writer-director Iain Softley and co-producers Alfonso Cuaron and Bill Kenwright, the company recently completed ‘The Shepherd’, starring John Travolta for Disney+.
It is currently in paid development on ‘Biafra’, in collaboration with David Oyelowo's Yoruba Saxon and Fremantle.
“We actually started three years, after an introduction by Fremantle. And have done a great deal of development during the Covid period,” Lim told Variety.
“We will finance development ourselves and will then go out and get project finance. There is soft money available in Malaysia and we also intend to make use of other forms of financing such as gaps that are not fully exploited in this region.
“Strategically, Southeast Asia is certainly a region to watch and well-placed to deliver ‘the next big thing.’
"Not only do territories such as Malaysia have their own unique culture, people, and locations but it also has an industrious and skilled production sector and a highly competitive film and TV production incentive,” said Johns in a statement.
“After exploring the region’s potential for myself and knowing Min’s vision and determination to work these assets in the international marketplace, Sympatico is on course to deliver some cracking scripted content with the sort of high production values, distinctive stories and universal themes that are essential for broadcasters and streamers.”
According to the duo, the projects are meant to be authentic and entertaining, to break stereotypes, and to organically integrate East and West with finished products aimed at global audiences.
Production-wise, this indicates a Malaysia set with characters who speak proper Malay and local languages. Asian characters will be true and equal protagonists in stories that are as much about them and their homeland as they are about their Western counterparts.
To do this, every title on the Sympatico slate is written by both Southeast Asian and British writers.
Projects in development include:
Limited series, ‘Emergency’, a 1951-set espionage thriller, in partnership with Fremantle, that tells the story of a controversial British SAS commander and a local undercover agent in a Communist unit racing against time to stop all-out war.
Series, ‘The Last Kapitan’, in which a Chinese community leader in British-controlled Penang returns from the dead to exact revenge on the man who wronged him years ago.
Feature film ‘Cabut’ in which a group of Malaysian robbers takes an expat American family hostage in their own home, only to discover that their prisoners are a bunch of twisted serial killers.
Film ‘Killing Time’, a Malaysia-set remake of Johns’ cult classic thriller about a deadly female assassin who sets out to avenge the gangster boss who betrayed her.
Film ‘Tudung Girl’, in which an underestimated and overlooked young Muslim woman tries to keep her family and neighbours alive when four assassins come to town.
Fact-based film ‘Berjalai’, in which a local Iban tracker and a British soldier are hunted through the jungle. Can they work together to stay one step ahead of their common enemy? – The Vibes, February 7, 2023
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