Like other school children, Nadira Ilana recited the national pledge of allegiance and sang national songs. She grew up in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, in East Malaysia.
After studying abroad, she moved to the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur. People kept asking her how long she had “been in Malaysia” as though Sabah wasn’t part of the country.
As a filmmaker, she realised then that telling ‘local stories’ wasn't going to be simple. The Malaysian film industry is mainly peninsular-based, and most West Malaysians knew little about East Malaysia.
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