This world’s first zombie movie is bagging Best Horror awards with its indigenous actors and setting
- Malaysian zombie film Belaban Hidup: Infeksi Zombie (Fight for Life: Zombie Infection) is the first to feature former headhunting tribe the Iban
- Malaysian, Iban and international actors join native Ibans who have never acted in a film before
As it snares awards around the world, a Malaysian independent zombie film is becoming the country’s most anticipated cinematic release of the year.
It’s easy to see why: as the world’s first zombie flick with indigenous Iban actors and setting, Belaban Hidup: Infeksi Zombie (Fight for Life: Zombie Infection) is hard to forget.
The Iban, a former headhunting tribe known for their war antics and symbolic tattoos, are one of three main native Dayak groups – a term that defines the longhouse-dwelling indigenous peoples of Borneo – from the island’s Malaysian state of Sarawak. There are only about a million Iban people left in the world today, and their traditional culture has largely disappeared as a consequence of Borneo’s evangelisation, industrial development and unsustainable deforestation for palm oil farming.
Malaysian-Chinese director Ray Lee and his Iban wife, producer Misha Minut, who was born in the Sarawak town of Limbang, have tapped into this less-explored background with their quirky and largely self-supported zombie debut.
Waiting to premiere on Malaysian screens, Belaban Hidup already won Best Horror at Singapore’s World Film Carnival on March 18, followed by Best Film and Best Horror at Saint Petersburg’s International Symbolic Art Film Festival on March 27. In mid-May, the film will debut in the US at the LA Asian World Film Festival.