Filmmaker John Hafiz Talks Quarantine, Fav Films and a ‘Puting’ or Two

By Ammar Haziq  •  23 Mar 2020 in Features

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John Hafiz is a Malaysian filmmaker, writer and former JUICE cover boy. So far, he has written and directed a short film – SATU which earned him a spot as a finalist at the BMW Shorties 2019, written a web-series called Longgar, worked on local music videos, played in a cross-dressing hardcore band and more. Recently, he directed the music video for Sweetass’ ‘Celaka’, which is probably your fav local song and MV right now.

John also edited the documentary, Eye On The Ball (produced by The Star’s R.AGE), that depicts the difficult journey of the Malaysian national blind football team that became ASEAN Para Games gold medalists in 2015.

Unlike a regular interview, in our new Q&A format – JUICE Conteng, we invite guests to talk about anything and everything while drawing so we don’t have to look into each other’s eyes and possibly fall in love.

We talked to John while drawing and asked him about his thought process, favourite films and putting some colour into the Malaysian creative scene. Before we get into the interview in full, here’s a clip of what went on..

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And here’s the rest of our conversation with John…

One song or artiste (local or international) that you would love to direct an MV for and why?
The Chemical Brothers. I grew up listening to their songs and watching their MVs. They have this kind of ‘lost in my own world’ feel in every one of their MVs. That’s exactly my favourite subject to explore and of course to add my touch to it. Maybe squeeze in a puting (nipple) or two in their MV.

What are your tips for people who want to create a MV on a budget?
Think harder.

You edited the documentary Eye On The Ball. How was that experience like compared to other projects you worked on?
Eye On The Ball was my first time editing a feature documentary. Usually, for documentaries, the post-production process plays a very crucial role in shaping the story. It’s a different approach from editing feature films where you have to edit based on the scripts.

As the Editor, when you see how much you have contributed in the final cut of the film, you feel appreciated. It’s nice being able to see that my portion of the work played a significant impact on the film as a whole.

OK, so, you have to quarantine yourself, you can have..
1 book: Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
1 film: The Dreamers by Bernardo Bertolucci
1 TV boxset: Breaking Bad
1 CD: Gorillaz – Demon Days
1 Chocolate: Daim
1 non-chocolate snack: Kepok Ikang

What’s next for John Hafiz?
Moving forward, John Hafiz wants to be more playful and to see the lightness of life, translate those stories into his writing and add some colour to the Malaysian creative scene.

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