Yasmin Ahmad, an icon of the creative arts, passed away last night from complications following a stroke.
My first conscious experience with her was through her breakthrough movie, Sepet (2004). In it, she touched emotions that were very close to my heart, being half-Malay, half-Chinese myself.
Through the movie, it was almost as though she was personally speaking to me and saying, "This is your life. I understand."
While so many others have produced work on the same issues, no one before her seemed to truly understand. Or even if they did, they didn't have her courage to present it on the Silver Screen.
That was what made her special to me. She saw the truth, she told the truth.
Rest in peace, dear lady. My prayers are with you.
