IPG Mediabrands and Petronas celebrate the Festival of Lights

IPG Mediabrands Malaysia and PETRONAS have collaborated on their 6th festive film of the year to celebrate Deepavali, the festival of lights.

The narrative of ‘Anugerah Kita’ (our blessings) continues in this latest webfilm, ‘Thanggam’, which loosely means “precious” or “treasure”. It paints the story of Kumar, a young urban boy who battles his formidable grandmother, only to later recognise her worth as a pillar to their community and to himself.

Chan Woei Hern, Executive Creative Director of IPG Mediabrands commented, “This chapter of our year-long narrative explores the little blessings that define where we are as Malaysians. We wanted ‘Thanggam’ to be an open house. We wanted to let audiences into the lives of a fellow Malaysian, by telling a story that was truly cultural, and at the same time universal.”

The young protagonist is shown reflecting back on the cultural and linguistic shock with his grandmother (Paati) and battling the generational gap. Through her interactions with their neighbours, he begins to understand the meaning of her connections with the community.

In addition, the film also features several easter eggs and familiar faces from previous PETRONAS festive films.

Woei Hern adds, “It’s nice to be able to weave together stories of Malaysians that audiences could notice, know and love throughout the year. To see everyday people write in, share their own stories and feel for the characters. With every film, we too learnt a little more about what it means the be Malaysian.

We can’t thank PETRONAS, Ismail Kamarul and his team at Reservoir, and the rest of our partners enough for every little blessing that came our way to bring the PETRONAS cinematic universe to life.”

The film was once again directed by Ismail Kamarul and produced by his team at Reservoir World. Post Production was by APV, with audio house partner Raof Zamirdin and Kena Sound.

The web film is available for viewing on PETRONAS’ official Facebook and YouTube channel, with the TVC running on TV and selected cinemas.