Interchange

10^th October 2016 6.30pm at Vue West End
11^th October 2016 1.00pm at BFI Southbank (NFT)
13^th October 2016 12.30pm at Vue West End

As a follow up to his Bunohan: Return to Murder, director Dain Said’s latest film, Interchange, is a gripping Malay and English film noir, fantasy thriller.

The opening scene at a bar where a gruesome murder has been discovered sets out the investigative puzzle for the rest of the film. A body swings suspended from the ceiling, its veins apparently turned inside out and completely drained of blood. Unbelievably violent homicides like these have pushed Adam (Iedil Putra), a forensic photographer, to give up on his profession and retreat into his flat where he prefers to take photos of his neighbours’ lives; however, the uniqueness of this murder and its resemblance to other similar ones occurring around the city drives Detective Man (Shaheizy Sam) to request Adam’s help in solving the mystery.

Set in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Said intricately weaves surrealism and fantasy to explore the sinister realms of traditional rituals, dark magic and Southeast Asian folklore. Pertinent themes of modernisation, technology and civilisation are explored through the central use of photography as a window into a different realm. Inspired by women in Borneo bathing themselves in a river as a result of being photographed by explorers and believing that they were now contaminated, Interchange examines this widely held belief across global indigenous populations.

Fantastical CGI effects transport the audience from a murder mystery taking place in the Kuala Lumpur underworld, to alternative realities where beautiful extinct birds roam freely in the jungle. Ultimately, it is the noxious effects of modernity on nature and the demonisation of tradition in favour of technology that is questioned and challenged by Said in a rare piece of cinema.

Miriam Karmali

Interchange does not have a UK release date yet.

For further information about the 60^th London Film Festival visit here.

Read more reviews from the festival here.

Watch the trailer for Interchange here: