Tunku Mona Riza and Susan Lankester describe how ‘Rain Town’ is truly a Malaysian film

“Language shouldn’t be a barrier in Malaysian cinema anymore. We have various races, cultures, and understandings, and it’s time to celebrate the differences that make us Malaysian,” she added. She also commented that it’s not impossible to tell the stories of those who aren’t similar to you. “As long as you do your research, take the time and effort to understand the intricacies surrounding the subject matter and people. But you have got to be thorough and open to feedback. Emotion is universal after all, and it’s how a director navigates and translates that emotion from the script that will make or break a film. It’s definitely a lot of hard work, and you have to tread sensitivities well,” Tunku Mona continued.

For example, one of the challenges the team faced was this: upon confirming the location of the shoot at a home in Taiping, the crew wanted to add a coat of paint to the house. However, at the time, the homeowner’s daughter-in-law was pregnant, and culturally, they had to abstain from doing any renovations to the house, no matter how minor. Consequently, they had to quickly find a second location to shoot the film.

Meanwhile, Lankester shared with us what it was like on set and how wonderful it was to work with the entire cast and crew. Although Aileen was initially supposed to be played by a Chinese woman, Tunku Mona felt that Lankester would fit the role perfectly. And during a virtual casting exercise over Zoom, all the characters performed cohesively well. “It was as if they were all in the same room,” Tunku Mona said.

“After we were finalised as the Choo family, we met a few times with Mona and the production team to read, improvise, argue over dialogue, and get to know each other. Kin Wah, Pauline, Wilson, and Fabian are all wonderful and capable actors. I would watch them quietly at times to get to know them from a distance when I wasn’t in a scene. But to be completely honest, the magic happened on set when we stepped into the lives of the Choos and breathed their love, hardship, pain, joy, frustration and sacrifice. That was pure,” said Lankester.

“We had an amazing experience filming in Taiping and other areas of the country; the set and crew were well-organised and relaxed. I love the scenes where there is little or no dialogue. Mona is cool that way; she believes that some scenes don’t need a lot said. The body language, the vibe, the surroundings in the scenes all speak to you. That is sufficient,” added Lankester about some of her favourite parts of the film.

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Lankester describes her acting style as being chameleon-like; she changes herself to fit the role she’s assigned to, making it interesting for both her and the audience. She shared that she channeled her own mother for the role of Aileen. “My family lost her about five years ago, and being given this role was a gift for me, to show the audiences who she was. Would I have behaved the same way, with the challenges Aileen faced? Some parts, perhaps, some parts, not all—I definitely wouldn’t have taken [any flak] from Choo (Chew Kin Wah), that’s for sure!” she laughingly shares.

The actress also talked about the amount of work that went on behind the scenes to ensure the film’s authenticity. “Mona had Pauline and I go for mooncake-making workshops so we’d look authentic during the filming. Fabian went for guitar lessons. Wilson signed up for English classes, while Kin Wah had to attend carpentry and tanglung-making classes,” she revealed.

Prior to its release, Rain Town has already received international acclaim as the Most Anticipated Language Film at the 36th China Golden Rooster Awards, held in conjunction with the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival in Xiamen, China, in 2023.

Produced by Current Pictures, Rain Town also represented Malaysia at numerous prestigious events such as the 10th Silk Road International Film Festival held in Fuzhou, China, the Vancouver Asian Film Festival, the Asian World Film Festival, the 54th International Film Festival of India, as well as the Medan Film Festival in November last year.

“A good story is universal, and I’m sure all Malaysians would be able to enjoy the narrative. I’m absolutely grateful to my dedicated team, both in front and behind the camera, and of course, to Finas for its digital content fund—without all of whom and which, this film would not have been possible,” Tunku Mona ended on a thankful note.

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