Anwar: The Untold Story (ATUS) focuses on Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's fight against corruption which also touches on the Perwaja case, KPB and toll tariffs. Anwar's firm belief on rejecting and fighting corruption was not liked by the ruling elite and business elites at that time. Then a conspiracy was held to overthrow Anwar who was then, Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister. It ended with him being fired, arrested, jailed and beaten in the Bukit Aman police lockup on Sept 20, 1998 also known as the "Black Eye" incident.
All this while, the people were served with only one version - that is the version of the government at the time - which stated that Anwar hit himself. However, through the ATUS film, the general public will have the opportunity to get exposure to their own version of the victim - that is, from Anwar's perspective. The audience will also be exposed to the real reasons Anwar was fired and imprisoned.
For the first time, scenes of Anwar being punched, slapped, and karate seven times in the lockup is visualized in detail. It was taken from the Report of the Royal Commission on the Injuries of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim which was issued in April 1999.
ATUS began filming in April 2021 and was completed in January this year. The time set for this film is from 1991 to 1998. This film is an important historical document especially for today's young generation. It is also an educational document on rejecting corruption.
The executive producer and original idea, Zunar, hopes that people can support by buying tickets at the cinema so that the message of this film can be spread widely. This is important as the genre of this film is rarely produced by local production houses.
Title: ANWAR, The Untold Story
Duration: 108 minutes
Director: Viva Westi
Executive Producer/Original Story: Zunar
Cast: Farid Kamil, Acha Septriasa, Hasnul Rahmat, Firdaus Karim, Saskia Chadwick, Piet Pagau & Dewi Irawan.
By Zunar