What Should The Title Be? (A Raya Short Film)
2025
One Raya, One Time
A few days before Raya, we wanted a short film people would actually share. That’s when A’aqiil Ahmad approached us and offered to direct the film for us. Once that offer came through, we jumped to build the crew and kickstarted immediately. Ideas flew everywhere: old-school drama, a detective spoof, an action rom-com, even a musical. Fun, but the clock was louder than the whiteboard, we HAVE to shoot this now. “Why did we agree to this?” We shifted the goal—stop chasing a perfect concept, capture our team’s real Raya energy. Families, food, music, greetings. Make something warm, simple, on deadline.
Find The Thread
We let every idea breathe, then watched them back to back. A pattern showed up fast: we all wanted to laugh together and make sure the idea is rejected every single time, which then transitions to another failed idea. That became the filter for every choice. Keep faces real. Keep setups light. Plan enough to move quickly, not enough to freeze. You know what, we decided to make a film about…wanting to make a film!
Pivot and Shoot
When “Raya esuk” hit, we called it: candid greeting over big production. We staged small scenes we could live in—karaoke, kuih, quick hugs, fake laughing—and let the camera follow. No heavy narration. Music carries. The sign-off kept it human: “Selamat Hari Raya… tune in next year (we promise).” The set felt like an open house and not a set at all. We genuinely just hung out and took B-rolls.
Make It a Ritual
We delivered on time and it felt honest. The team has a repeatable pattern now: show the brainstorm, because that could be the content itself. Next year, we can raise the craft without losing the smile. Small steps, better every year. All in all, it was one those shoots where we had a lot of fun, with everyone being behind and in front of the camera. It was all in-house.
Roles
