ERMA FATIMA'S MOON AND SUN

THERE is a disturbing ring to Erma Fatima's latest movie Bulan dan Matahari. Her subject of this time around is a gay man trapped in an unhappy marriage. Erma filled in the interesting storyline of the movie with much excitement in a recent interview.

"I know Bulan dan Matahari is going to spark off a controversy. I have prepared myself for it,'' says the actress-turned-director who is inspired to do the movie after much observation and understanding of the subject.

Erma has related the gist of the story to two scriptwriters but she's going to choose only the better script. Shooting should start in September around the Klang Valley, Kuala Lumpur and Sabah.

Erma has chosen at the title Bulan Dan Matahari for the simple reason that the moon and the sun are symbols to indicate that women and gays have their own worlds and cannot be together.

The outspoken actress, whose first movie role was playing a lesbian in Nasir Jani's Rozana '87, is quite intrigued by the lifestyles of bisexuals, homosexuals and transvestites.

"I have done surveys on this subject and I find it a real challenge to discuss it openly and bring out the true emotion of a transvestite.''

The movie is budgeted at RM1mil and will be produced by Erma's own production house BNE Studio.

"Bulan dan Matahari is a heavy story which looks at a gay man through the eyes of his wife. I'll try to capture the trauma and emotions of the woman when she discovers that her husband is in love with a man,'' says Erma who will be directing the movie.

She adds: "I am not going to take sides or preach what is right or wrong. I shall leave that to the religious teachers. I'll just touch on the emotional aspect and try my best to present the subject tastefully with minimal and subtle sexual undertones.''

So far, Rosyam Nor has agreed to play the boyfriend and M. Nasir plays the part of a dance choreographer.

M. Nasir has just completed Kuasatek's TV serial Salam Taj Mahal in which he plays a cultural expert, Masterji.

The award-winning Rosyam was last seen playing a serial rapist in Lenjan which won him the Best Supporting Actor award at the Asia-Pacific Film Festival in Bangkok last year.

Erma is still looking out for two leads to play the married couple. She has a few names in mind but unfortunately they are busy with other commitments.

"I am not looking at commercial actors here. I want intense actors who can deliver and not those seeking glamour,'' says Erma who has directed Jimi Asmara and Perempuan Melayu Terakhir.

Erma says she doesn't mind playing the wife if she can get a good director to assist her.

There's a lot of expectations for this movie, says Erma. This is because right after her one-year film course at Institut Kesenian Jakarta in 1998, her "tutors'', veteran Indonesian actor/director Slamet Rahardjoand directors Teguh Karya and Garin Nugroho, challenged her to make "a better movie or quit.''

"They told me to buck up or stay at home and forget about making movies. So, I have to live up to their expectations,'' says Erma who jointly directed a six-episode Indonesian TV drama Tajuk with Slamet, after completing her course.

According to Erma, it's natural for any students to be influenced by their teachers but she doen't want to be like them.

"I value all the lessons that they have taught me. They've taught me to be a responsible director. Still, I don't want to be another Teguh Karya or Slamet Rahardjo. I want to be better. That means I have to work very hard,'' says the 31-year-old actress who is married to award-winning cameraman/director of photography Badaruddin Haji Jazmi.

Asked to comment on her last movie Perempuan Melayu Terakhir which received mixed reviews from critics, Erma says she has learned to cope with criticisms.

"My film was badly hit by the media. It seemed there was nothing good about it. I was quite affected initially but I realised that if I want to continue doing movies, I have to learn to cope with bad reviews. So, I cast all that aside.

"One of the reasons why the movie did not do well was because of the subject matter - a man who goes in search of his true identity. Perhaps it's not interesting enough for local viewers. The feedback I got was that it seemed like I was preaching throughout the movie. So, I suppose it gets rather boring after a while.''

Perempuan Melayu Terakhir collected RM500,000 at the local box office. The first movie which she directed, Jimi Asmara, fared slightly better with RM800,000.

Erma is currently directing Semaian Kasih, Eurofine (M) Sdn Bhd's latest drama, which stars Rosyam Nor, Haliza Misbun, singer Eja and a Sri Lankan actress.

The RM600,000 serial revolves around the people who work in tea plantations in Malaysia, Sri Lanka and England and is scripted by Nawal Ismail.

Once this drama is completed, Erma hopes to concentrate on Bulan dan Matahari.

"Putting together a feature film takes a long time, that's why I plan to put other projects on hold. Only dedicated and committed actors will be signed up. I want full concentration from those involved especially when it involves long shoots on Mount Kinabalu in Sabah,'' says Erma.

As for the controversy that will undoubtedly arise, Erma says it is to be expected. With her string of dramas which border on controversy, Erma knows how to address the problem if it arises.

Some of her works that were deemed too sensitive were Ekstasi (a journalist tries the Ecstasy pills to get a first-hand experience on the drug and gets hooked), Jangan (a Bangladeshi marries a Malaysian and is later deported) and Marabbuka (about a Christian who renounces her religion and embraces Islam without her parents' knowledge).

Marabukka had to be retitled to Fadhillah for fear it would be rejected by the National Film Censorship Board on the grounds of its religious sensitivity. Erma is not the least perturbed that a few of her "sensitive'' dramas have been put in cold storage.

"You are bound to attract attention if you do stories that border on danger zones. But then, that's the whole idea of making good movies - bold and provocative.'' That's the way to go, Erma!

BY ZIEMAN - PUBLISHED 23/5/2000