Cover Producer Sangeeta Krishnasamy (right) hopes the biopic about war heroine Sybil Kathigasu’s bravery will inspire international audiences
Producer Sangeeta Krishnasamy (right) hopes the biopic about war heroine Sybil Kathigasu’s bravery will inspire international audiences
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Actor and producer Sangeeta Krishnasamy hopes the upcoming biopic about war heroine Sybil Kathigasu’s bravery during the Japanese occupation of Malaya will inspire international audiences and garner an Oscar win
The creators of the heartwarming hit Gemencheh Boys are once again living their passion for telling incredible Malaysian stories with their latest film project that’s scheduled to start shooting by the end of 2024. Dubbed Sybil, the biopic is inspired by the brave efforts of Eurasian nurse Sybil Medan Kathigasu, who ran a clinic alongside her husband, Dr Abdon Clement Kathigasu, in Perak just before the Japanese occupation of Malaya. During the Japanese occupation, Sybil and her husband treated men from the Perak People’s Anti-Japanese Army, supplying them with medicine and information despite the enormous risk of doing so.
Sybil was eventually captured by the Japanese military police, tortured and imprisoned for two years, though she refused to divulge any information to her captors about the resistance forces. Upon her release at the end of the war, Sybil received medical treatment for her injuries in the UK and was awarded the George Medal for Gallantry by King George just months before she passed away in 1948.
Read more: ‘Jalan Sybil Kathigasu’ and more Malaysian landmarks named after women
Above Sybil with her George Medal for bravery before she passed away in 1948
Sybil with her George Medal for bravery before she passed away in 1948
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“When I first heard about her, I thought it was such a fantastic story,” says actress and producer Sangeeta Krishnasamy. “It took me three months to find her book. I feel we fall back in when it comes to the documentation of our history in Malaysia. Lucky for us, before Sybil passed, someone wrote a book on her account of what happened to her, and that has given us the framework for her story.
“She resonated with people—not just women, but with people both locally and outside of Malaysia. She’s been honoured by Time magazine and Google even did a special Doodle tribute for her. Her story already appeals to so many people. So it wouldn’t be a challenge in that sense to tell her story to the world,” adds the Adiwiraku and Framed star, who will be going to Cannes in two weeks’ time to meet with co-production companies from the UK to work on this project.
See also: 7 women who have helped to advance women through history to today
Co-producer A. Samad Hassan, who is in the process of casting actors from Japan, adds: “We hope to make stories about Malaysian heroes, but we don’t want this film just to stay in Malaysia. What Sybil Kathigasu has done was not just for Malaya at the time but for many lives, as she played an important part in the fight for freedom against the Japanese.”
“It’s a big story to tell. If you look at this story, it’s going to be very challenging for the actors. It is pre-Japanese Occupation, during Occupation, and post-Occupation. We will have to have breaks in between shoots to get the actors mentally and physically prepared for each part,” says Sangeeta, adding that her team is in talks with the mayor of Ipoh on getting UNESCO heritage status for Sybil’s clinic in Papan, Ipoh, which is currently in a state of disrepair.
“One of the things we are hoping to do alongside this film is to raise funds so that hopefully, No. 74 at Papan, Sybil’s museum and clinic, her memorial essentially, can be restored.”
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Previously contributing to Esquire Malaysia, Expat Lifestyle and Newsweek, Tania oversees digital stories across Tatler’s key content pillars, also leading the Front & Female platform exploring issues and topics affecting women today.
