Yasmin Ahmad

Yasmin Ahmad (July 1, 1958 - July 25, 2009) was a critically-acclaimed multi-award winning film director, writer and scriptwriter from Malaysia and was also the executive creative director at Leo Burnett Kuala Lumpur. Her television commercials and films are well-known in Malaysia for their humour, heart and love that crosses cross-cultural barriers, in particular her ads for Petronas, the national oil and gas company. Her works have won multiple awards both within Malaysia and internationally.

Early career

A graduate in arts majoring in politics and psychology from a British university, she worked as a trainee banker in 1982 for two weeks. After that she worked for IBM as a marketing representative while moonlighting as a blues singer and pianist by night. Yasmin began her career in advertising as a copywriter at Ogilvy & Mather. In 1993 she moved to Leo Burnett as joint creative director with Ali Mohammed and eventually rising to executive creative director at Leo Burnett Kuala Lumpur.

Breakthrough

Her first film was Rabun in 2002. Yasmin's films have won many international awards and praise from the critics and public alike. Most of her films have been screened at the Berlin, San Francisco, Singapore and Cannes (film market) international film festivals. Her films were featured in a special retrospective at the 19th Tokyo International Film Festival in October 2006. An April 2007 retrospective of her feature films was sponsored by the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, University of Hawaii, and the Honolulu Academy of Arts.

Death

On Thursday, July 23, 2009, Yasmin suffered a stroke and remained motionless, sitted, she was resting her head on the table, with her hands cupping her face, while attending a meeting with local artist Siti Nurhaliza and her husband Khalid Mohamad Jiwa, and Media Prima representatives for an undisclosed project at Sri Pentas, TV3. Before the meeting, she spent some personal time with Media Prima's Group Creative Director, Peter Chin and was reported to be in a jovial and relaxed spirit.

She was rushed to the Damansara Specialist Hospital where she underwent a neurosurgery procedure to reduce the swelling in her brain. The operation was a success however her condition was considered critical but stable. Bernama quoted her brother-in-law, Zakaria Zahari, as saying that Yasmin had suffered a stroke and hemorrhaging in the brain.

On Saturday, July 25, 2009, less than 48 hours after the surgery, Yasmin Ahmad succumbed to her injury and was pronounced dead at 11.25pm. On Sunday, July 26, 2009, her husband, Abdullah Tan Yew Leong, and their immediate families buried her at the USJ22 Islamic Burial Site in Subang Jaya. Hundreds of fans, friends, industry colleagues and personalities, gathered to bid her farewell.

Filmography

Films

* Rabun (My Failing Eyesight) (2003)
* Sepet (Chinese Eye) (2004)
* Gubra (Anxiety) (2006)
* Mukhsin (2007)
* Muallaf (The Convert) (2008)
* Talentime (2009)

Commercials

* Petronas TV Commercial (for Chinese New Year, Hari Raya, Deepavali & National Day)
* Yuzy (2000) Petronas Road Safety Campaign
* Vas Dentures (2000) Celcom
* Tan Hong Ming In Love (2007) Petronas Merdeka Day commercial
* Family (2008) for the Singaporean Ministry of Community Development,Youth and Sports
* Funeral (2009) for the Singaporean Ministry of Community Development,Youth and Sports

Awards and nominations

* Malaysia Video Awards for Best Director (1999) - Forgiving Petronas commercial
* Association of Accredited Advertising Agents Malaysia's Golden Kancil Award for Best Advertising Agency (1999/2000)
* Malaysia Video Awards silver award for Best Scriptwriting (2000)Yuzy Petronas Road Safety Campaign
* Malaysia Video Awards bronze award for Best Scriptwriting (2000)Vas Dentures Celcom
* Malaysian Film Festival awards for Most Original Story and Best Film (2005) Sepet
* Malaysia Film Festival awards for Best Screenplay and Best Film (2006) Gubra
* Berlin International Film Festival Grand Prix award by the Kinderfilmfest International Jury and Generation K-Plus Crystal Bear Special Mention (2007) Mukhsin