After the success of the first movie "Juvana", which collected RM2.86 million in 2013, the story continues with the sequel "Juvana 2: Terperangkap Dalam Kebebasan", now out in cinemas. Director Faisal Ishak revealed that his second movie picks up where the first movie left off, when Botak and Ayam are given early release due to their involvement in saving the civilians during a riot. During the premiere of "Juvana 2: Terperangkap Dalam Kebebasan" at Cathay Cineplex, eCurve recently, Cinema Online had the chance to talk with the talented director about his experiences and upcoming projects.
Can you tell us more about "Juvana 2"? Okay, for "Juvana 2", we changed the story's background whereby they [the gang] are now released from the juvenile detention centre. It is a continuation of the first movie. So, for this new movie, I want to show how the characters' lives are out there, apart from having to be independent enough to live on their own. However, their past returns to haunt them, hence the reason our tagline is "terperangkap dalam kebebasan" (trapped in freedom). The filming for "Juvana 2" and "Juvana 3" were done simultaneously? Yes, correct. We started filming around April last year and it took 45 days to film both movies. It was easier for me to direct both movies within the 45 days, because if I were to do them at different times, the actors' schedules might clash. How did you divide your time filming both movies within that period and did you face any problems during filming? I did not face much trouble as "Juvana 2" and "Juvana 3" are 'direct conti'. So, we were able to do the filming according to schedule and Alhamdulillah, everything went well without that much problem. I think the biggest challenge was the stunts because we had to do so many stunt scenes in such a short period of time. Why was Syazwan Zulkifly's Apek character absent in "Juvana 2" and Bront Palarae's Cikgu Raja was instead played by Hasnul Rahmat? I was a little let down when both the original actors couldn't reprise their respective roles, as both have given quite an impact in the drama series and movie, previously. Syazwan couldn't return because an agreement couldn't be reached with the production, meanwhile Bront was on a tight schedule. But I managed to replace Bront with Hasnul Rahmat to play Cikgu Raja. How did you feel when it was revealed that "Juvana 2" has been classified for 18 and above? When I received the news from LPF (Malaysia's Film Censorship Board) about the 18 classification, I did feel pressured because the audiences for the movie and drama series are mostly 15 years old and above. However, I choose to look at this from a positive view, as in this can be a good upgrade for the movie. Are you satisfied with the final outcome and what is your target for the sequel? I am very satisfied with how "Juvana 2" turned out. As for the target, I do not aim high, I just hope it will collect more than the 2013 movie, which made RM2.86 million. What are you working on next? I will be back with "Juvana 3" soon but there is no release date set for it yet. I also plan to direct "Juvana 4", which will be a prequel that will reveal the background or story of Lan Todak, the character played by Sharnaaz Ahmad.