It seems Malaysian director Sam Quah’s psychological thriller A Place Called Silence 默涺 is well on its way to being the second highest-grossing summer film in China in 2024, with box office receipts reaching upwards of RMB 1.3 billion. Even though Successor 抓娃娃, the comedy picture starring Shen Teng and Ma Li, has not yet reached the top spot with RMB 2.7 billion, the film has made significant progress, particularly considering its near cancellation.
Retake and Issue
The primary actor in the first movie, Jag Huang, was the target of #MeToo allegations. Sam’s girlfriend Janine Chang, better known as Ning Chang, is a Taiwanese actress whose NT$ 5 million investment went a long way toward ensuring a reshoot. Without her, the picture would never have made it to the big screen. At first, the movie had already been finished. However, once MeToo accusations against Jag arose in 2023, preparations for a Chinese release had to be shelved (though his accuser tendered an apology a year later). This was unfortunate because the movie was also meant to highlight Sam Quah’s screenwriting career—this was his first screenplay since breaking into the entertainment industry.
Janine Chang Chun Ning alongside the Director from Malaysia
Janine realized that all of his hard work was about to be lost, so she decided to put NT$ 5 million into the project in order to recast the entire movie and reshoot it in Malaysia. Ivy Yin’s original portrayal of the female lead was replaced by Janine Chang.
The 39-year-old Malaysian director Sam Quah went to Taiwan to study filmmaking. Last year, the 41-year-old actress and her director partner finally confirmed their relationship to the public after dating rumors about them persisted for some time.
A Place Called Silence is a suspenseful murder mystery set in a Malaysian high school. The main characters are Tong, a girl with speech impairment who is bullied by her peers, her mother, the school janitor, and the investigating police. Starring are Francis Ng from Hong Kong, Ning Chang, Wang Chuanjun, and Wang Shengdi, a child actress.
