The official trailer is live for Walid, the new Malaysian action thriller from award-winning director Areel Abu Bakar. Outsider Pictures is running weeklong screenings in New York at Cinema Village from July 28, and in Los Angeles at Laemmle Glendale from August 11 with Bakar in attendance with lead actor Megat Sharizal.
Bakar directs from a script he wrote with Hafiz Derani, which stars Sharizal in a story that draws into the plight of child trafficking and xenophobia against other migrants living in Southeast Asia. Walid (Sharizal) lives a simple small town life, donating his time to teaching under-privileged children, as well as repairing electrical items for the villagers. One day he notices a young girl, Aisha, hanging around his class and invites her to join. A bond builds between teacher and student until it is shattered by a local crime syndicate that snatches Aisha and the other children. When Walid starts to investigate Aisha’s disappearance he realizes the local police are in the pocket of the syndicate, and takes matters into his own hands to get Aisha and her friends back before they are sold.
Walid is Bakar’s latest return to the genre since Silat Warriors: Deed Of Death (a.k.a. Geran), which won the director the Daniel A. Craft Award for Excellence In Action Cinema during the New York Asian Film Festival in 2020. Bakar reconvenes with much of the Silat action team behind that film, proffering a cast readily trained in hands, feet and weapons, including Silat Warriors actors Feiyna Tajudin, and three-time World Silat champion Khoharullah Majid who also serves as the film’s fight choreographer.
Bakar says “As action films have become a favorite genre of viewers not only in Malaysia, but worldwide, this is one of the ways to introduce our cultural and heritage to the international level. We are trying to provide an opportunity for martial arts activists to join the film industry.”
The film also pairs Bakar once again with Silat Warriors co-star, local television and film actor Namron, who also shares multiple credits in the director’s chair, including his multi-award winning 2018 crime thriller, Crossroads: One Two Jaga.
Namron reportedly stated that among the factors he agreed to star in the film was because of the interesting storyline. Additionally, he also sees Areel as a very talented director and able to produce a film that satisfies the tastes of the audience.
“Working under the direction of Areel for me, he is a calm director, but has the spirit of a Malay warrior who never gives up,” added Namron.
Walid also stars Putri Qaseh Izwandy, Fad Anuar, Jebat Zulfar, Sham Putra, Fad Anuar, Yusran Hashim, Aliff Yasraf and Taiyuddin Bakar.
