17 Jul – Cinema Online recently collaborated with The Ultimate Cosplayers community for a 'Movie Day' at the cinema. The movie-watching event with the superhero community took place at mmCineplexes eCurve, with more than 30 superhero cosplayers such as Ant-Man, Spider-Man, Iron Man, Hulk, Thanos, Deadpool and more in attendance.
Co-organiser Amir from The Ultimate Cosplayers expressed his gratitude towards Cinema Online who was willing to collaborate with them for the event.
"Our community often organises 'Movie Day' with the members every time there is a new superhero movie. "We're very thankful that Cinema Online participated in organising this event as this will also give more exposure to our community," said Amir, who is also a member of the Star Wars Malaysia Fan Club.
Farabi Zawali, one of the founders of The Ultimate Cosplayers, said that the community was formed to gather those who share the same interest in superhero movies and cosplaying as superheroes. "In Malaysia, there are actually a lot who are interested in cosplay but before this they did it individually because there was no community like this. Hence, my friend and I founded this community to gather those with the same interest as ours.
"We don't only interact on social media but we also often arrange meetings with the community to do various activities together." The IT consultant added that apart from gathering together to watch movies or hang out, they also often get invited for appearances at birthday parties and are involved in community projects by corporate companies.
Talking about generating side incomes, indie filmmaker Muhammad Syamim said that his interest allowed him to generate income by getting paid to make superhero costumes. "It's undeniable that superhero costumes are not cheap because it can reach thousands of ringgit, but my interest in it made me learn how to make my own costumes using YouTube tutorials.
"After my friends saw my work, they were willing to pay me to make the costumes that they wanted. I get to earn money doing something that I like."
Meanwhile, another cosplay fan that only wanted to be known as Wan Kedah said that age is nothing but a number when it comes to cosplaying, using himself as an example as he was still active with it despite his older age. Wan is also the founder of Collectors Toy Fair Kuala Lumpur (CTFKL), which is the largest toy convention in Malaysia.