A Call
SYNOPSIS
“We lost so much after The Great Wars. The people, the gatherings, the Ruin… Nothing much than an echo of ancient beliefs now.”
In a distant post-apocalyptic future of Malaysia (or at least the remnants of it), a young boy, Puteh, contemplates an unknown, strange sound, A Call; he hears it everyday, every time he goes to school. Realising that it comes from an ancient ruin nearby, he uncovers a strange familiarity, a love letter of ancestry and forgotten traditions.
“What would happen if we were all nothing more than a distant, forgotten myth, a forgotten tradition?”
Mythology, folklore and traditions play a part in our daily lives, but we don’t talk about them. Join Nadhir as he talks about his inspiration behind “A Call”, delving into an important philosophical question: What would it be like if the future treats our lives and stories in the same way as we do our past?
Puteh is a young boy who navigates this post-apocalyptic town alone. Nadhir deliberately made his protagonist as such, fascinated by the many prophetic stories that portray a lonesome state – just them and a voice that guides toward the “truth”.
DID YOU KNOW? Inspiration for the atmosphere in “A Call” came from various sources, such as antiquity paintings depicting Nusantara, and vintage photographs of Middle Eastern ancient ruins.
Nadhir Nor is an illustrator from Malaysia who is very much interested in all things otherworldly. Mythology, lost traditions and their relationship with modern society are some of the major subjects heavily explored in his work. From fantastical queer epics to surreal botanical paintings, he hopes to share as much magical body of work as he can to the world.