Write a short summary of what happens in the film.

Inspired by true events in 1957, the film depicts the adventures of Radio Malaya music supervisor Tan Sri Ahmad Merican, and music teacher and conductor Tony Fonseka, as they rise to the challenge in fulfilling a simple yet historically significant wish of our first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, to see every day Malayans – regardless of race, gender and background – perform in a national choir to demonstrate unity to herald the birth of our nation.

Cultural / Context information for the jury

Getaran Pertama is an offering from Axiata Group Berhad and Celcom Axiata Berhad for Malaysia’s 62nd National Day. Through this effort, the telco brand sought to re-emphasise the spirit of unity, just like it was before.

Tell the jury about the ambitions & challenges of production process.

This spot was based on true events back in 1957. The brief itself already sounded challenging when we took it from the agency. On top of that, the production lead time was only 10days from job confirmation to shoot day. Within this 10 days, a significant amount of research went into studying the era’s fashion, setting, vehicles, and down to the smaller props. We constructed all sets with careful attention in detail and spent time sourcing the right props. Casting was also challenging as we need to find the talents from theatres and choir groups, at the same time looks similar to the original choir team.