BALLAD OF THE HALF-BOY
Year
Language
Duration
Genre
Produce by
Direct by
Logline
: Coming Soon (2025)
: Dusun, Kadazan, Bahasa Sabah
: Approx. 115 minutes
: Family drama, fantasy, indigenous folklore
: Telan Bulan Films
: Nadira Ilana
: Odu Minantob - Death - foretells in dreams the coming of Tarob, a greedy sun-eating monster - a phenomenon that coincides with the return of Emory’s estranged and scandalous father.
SYNOPSIS
Modern day Sabah, Borneo-Malaysia. Emory, an indigenous rice wine-maker, is determined to preserve the craft once thought of as sacred. Different realms blend together after Emory begins to dream of Odu Minantob - Death - who foretells the return of the greedy sun-eating monster, Tarob. This omen coincides with the sudden reappearance of Emory’s estranged father, Roger whose arrival brings public scandal to their family’s doorstep. As Emory spirals, Odu Minantob continues to narrate the legend of Sampapas, a Half-Boy whose wish is to one day become whole.
DIRECTOR'S BIO
NADIRA ILANA
Nadira Ilana is a passionate writer, director and producer whose films are inspired by her Borneo-Malaysian identity. An ethnic Dusun filmmaker and programmer, she founded Telan Bulan Films as a means to proliferate representation in the mass media for indigenous and minority voices.
She occasionally programs film screenings under the moniker CineBah. Nadira is an alumni of the Berlinale Talent Campus, SGIFF SEA Film Lab, Bucheon Fantastic Film School and Luang Prabang Talent Lab.
After 14 years of development, her debut feature film based on an indigenous Sabahan folktale, ‘Ballad of the Half-Boy’, is slated for completion in 2025. http://telanbulanfilms.com
