| Pendatang | |
| Director: | Ng Ken Kin |
| Screenplay: | Lim Boon Siang |
| Cinematography: | Teck Zee Tan |
| Editing: | Yap Mun Ee Chloe |
| Music: | Wey Yinn Teo |
| Studio: | Kuman Pictures |
| Runtime: | 98 minutes |
| Country: | Malaysia |
| Language: | Cantonese, Malay, Tamil |
Pendatang is a 2023 Malaysian dystopian drama thriller film directed by Ng Ken Kin and written by Lim Boon Siang. Produced by Kuman Pictures in association with Tapir Films, Pendatang follows a Cantonese–speaking Chinese family forced to relocate to a rural kampong home, shortly after Malaysia implemented the fictional Segregation Act, where racial segregation between the ethnic groups of the country became strictly enforced.[1] [2] [3] [4]
Pendatang is a fully crowdfunded movie.[5] Ng Ken Kin, the director, stated that he did not feel the movie would have been approved for local cinematic release by the Film Censorship Board.[6] Hence, the film is available on YouTube for free.[7] The film does not make any advertising revenue and is non-profit driven. The film premiered on YouTube on December 21, 2023.[8]
Pendatang is a fully crowdfunded movie. In 2022, Kuman Pictures raised a total of RM335,981 through the crowdfunding campaign on the platform, Indiegogo.[9] The production team chose to be fully crowd funded to ensure the film would be faithful to the script without limitations that traditional government and commercially-led productions and funding options may have imposed.
Pendatang premiered for free on YouTube on the 21st of December 2023.
The film received generally positive reviews from The Rakyat Post[10] and the South China Morning Post.[8]