ABANG: ‘Geran’ Director Well On The Way With Prequel To The 2020 Martial Arts Action Hit
This one’s already been teased a few times online so I’m not breaking protocol of any kind. Point in fact, this news goes as far back as January (as far as I can tell) but a prequel to 2020’s Malaysian action thriller, Geran, is currently in post-production.
The new film in question is Abang (“Brother” when translated in English), and Areel Abu Bakar, who directed Geran is at the helm. Bakar also teased the film a few months ago when filming wrapped, showcasing a small first look at the film which features none other than actor Beto Kusyairy.
Bakar’s progress has been amazing to see since Geran, which went on to earn the director the Daniel A. Craft Award for Excellence in Action Cinema upon screening for the New York Asian Film Festival’s virtual 19th edition. The film, starring Malaysia’s Khoharullah in the story of a martial artist forced to rescue his brother from the clutches of a gluttonous crime boss, was picked up for North American distribution by Well Go U.S.A. the following Spring and released as Silat Warriors: Deed Of Death. Bakar has also kept busy on other projects, namely casting Shahrizal for the lead role in 2023 action thriller, Walid, and going on to direct 2024’s Pungut.
Actor Kusyairy has been around longer than I’ve known of him, but he’s been a breath of fresh air since lending his support in Syamsul Yusof’s 2022 period war epic, Mat Kilau. Some of his recent work includes Adrian Teh’s time travel thriller, Reversi, and Faisal Ishak’s biopictoral martial arts drama, Gayong, in which he stars as the pioneer of the titular Malaysian martial art, as well as a sequel to Gayong; I should also add that Kusyairy has been a martial artist since he came into it at the age of seven, so this is a man who knows his stuff.
I don’t know much else about Abang, but I can only ascertain that it’ll be as fun as a lot of what I’ve seen from Bakar so far. Check out Bakar at work in his editing booth below in a photo from April.
