Ensemble & PETRONAS spotlight neighbourly kindness in its newest cheeky Raya spot

Following recent tradition, Ensemble Worldwide and PETRONAS have released another fully animated festive film, to celebrate Raya in line with the PETRONAS festive films theme of 2020-2021, ‘Our Unique Family’.

Titled ‘Syukur Raya’, the film explores themes of compassion and kindness through a fun and cheeky ‘seloka’ – Malay poetry put to music that carries life lessons. The narrator, a spotted dove named Syuk-kur – a wordplay of ‘syukur’ (thankfulness) and ‘tekukur’ (the Malay word for dove) –acts as witness to the goings-on in a local neighbourhood. The main character Poji, a delivery rider, misses his hometown to the point he envisions his fierce next-door neighbour, Mak Jah, as his own mother.

“The film celebrates the spirit of ‘semangat kejiranan’ (neighbourly kindness), inspiring selflessness in tough times and helping us discover the meaning of family even when we’re apart from our own,” said Creative Director of Ensemble Worldwide, Ahmad Nazril Ibrahim. “When creating the storyline, we looked at the multiple layers of what family means, to really dig deep into the true spirit of togetherness and generosity of Aidilfitri.”

The film sees the charismatic bird narrate the feelings of Poji and his friends alongside Mak Jemah and their neighbours. Initially disheartened about the aloofness of Mak Jah, and being unable to go home to family, they finally revive their festive spirit by a gift of ‘rendang’ (traditional festive dish) by her. 

“In light of the ongoing pandemic, we embarked on a journey to produce fully animated webfilms to expand on PETRONAS’ festive theme of ‘Our unique family’,” said PETRONAS Senior General Manager of Group Strategic Communications, Datin Anita Azrina Abdul Aziz. “We place a very high importance in following SOPs, and in doing an animated spot, we avoided face-to-face film shoots which may have compromised the parties involved in the production.”

“Creating animated webfilms for PETRONAS has given us the opportunity to do so as the changes around us continue to stimulate new ways of thinking,” Ahman added. “For Syukur Raya, we were inspired by the many stories of people coming together to bring joy to others (and) it also pays tribute to our delivery partners, the unspoken heroes who have been working tirelessly as front liners to support our daily lives.”

According to a statement released regarding the film,  similar to other festive films produced by the company, there are several cheeky “easter eggs” included in the film and Ahmad said he hopes viewers have fun finding them.

The production team includes Reserve Tank as the production house, Fly Studio, Kodokawa Gempak Starz as animation studio and Real Time Studios as audio house. Music composed by Mohd Rizdzuwan Bin Mohd Jusoh, and Hyrul & Ensemble Worldwide as lyricists, with music arrangement by Mohd Rizdzuwan Bin MD Jusoh and Real Time Studios. 

The film also features well-known Malaysian musician and composer Datuk M. Nasir and his wife Datin Marlia Musa. 
The PETRONAS festive films’ theme of 2021 extends the theme of ‘Our Unique Family’ from 2020, for PETRONAS to continue to bring and spread joy to all Malaysians. This effort is amplified in 2021 to encompass family in a larger sense – from the family you know to the family you discover, and to the communities you serve.

Watch the full festive film here: