ABSTRACT
Malaysia has had a minor film industry since the 1930s. Traditionally con sidered as commercial entertainment, it is only in the last twenty years that the medium of film has been explored by filmmakers and cultural and film critics as a discursive form representing national identity. More important, the work of ethnic Malay filmmakers of the Malaysian New Wave in the 1990s demonstrates both a conscious and unconscious desire to recover the indigenous roots of Malay culture. This recuperation takes a different form for female filmmakers than it does for male filmmakers. I will explore this difference by examining the films of New Wave female filmmaker Shuhaimi Baba. However, to better understand the motivations behind the New Wave filmmakers' cultural work, 1 will first provide some general information on Malaysia and its film industry.
