The Big Durian

The playful, probing docu-essay The Big Durian revisits a 1987 shooting spree by a Malay soldier who ran amok in a predominantly Chinese area in Kuala Lumpur - an incident that coincided with a spike of racial tensions and general paranoia. Days later, the government detained a hundred or so people under the Internal Security Act, a tool for silencing its critics.

"Named for the thorny local fruit and unafraid to take on a variety of prickly Malaysian taboos, prejudices, and urban legends, The Big Durian ends up a sober critique of the country's "neo-feudal" politics (as one interviewee puts it) and an impertinent love letter to its people that doesn't let them off the hook for their apathy." - Dennis Lim, The Village Voice