Private Project

Haruan: The Snakehead

Do bad deeds always beget badness?

A dark tale of a magical fish and its flawed human friends.

10-year old Ikan lives with his older sister Salomah and their stepfather Deris. Ikan adores his sister and loves all fish, especially his pet snakehead fish Haruan. Some snakeheads eat their young. Apparently, some humans do too. Like the snakeheads, hungry Deris has no natural predator. Like the snakeheads, Salomah is a survivor. Ikan and Haruan will do anything to save their beloved Salomah. Deris must be stopped, at whatever cost...

  • Raudzah Aziz
    Executive Producers
  • Yasmin Husswan
    Executive Producers
  • Razli Dalan
    Executive Producers
  • Rosdalina Dahlan
    Associate Producers
  • Erik Knudsen
    Associate Producers
  • Andrew Willis
    Associate Producers
  • Ahmad Dalan
    Cast
  • Iqa Pqot
    Cast
  • Megat Sharizal
    Cast
  • Aidilla Jeharey
    Cast
  • Kivi Larmola
    Art Direction
  • Sanna Larmola
    Production Design
  • Courtney Sherives
    Cinematography
  • Trabye
    Sound design, Audio mixing, Original score
  • Aidilla Jeharey
    Make-up
  • Kermawijaya
    Make-up
  • Razli Dalan
    Original Story, Drawings, Screenplay, Direction, Editing
  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Feature, Other
  • Genres:
    Experimental
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 12 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    September 30, 2014
  • Country of Origin:
    Malaysia
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    Arabic, English, Finnish, Malay
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • BLOW-UP Chicago International Arthouse Film Festival 2015

    Finalist: Best Narrative Feature (Antonioni Award)
  • BLOW-UP Chicago International Arthouse Film Festival 2015

    Finalist: Experimental (Eisenstein Award)
  • BLOW-UP Chicago International Arthouse Film Festival 2015

    Finalist: Best Production Design
  • Hong Kong Arthouse Film Festival 2015

    Official Selection
  • Lisbon International Film Festival 2015

    Official Selection
  • Singapore World International Film Festival 2016

    Official Selection
  • Toronto Film Week 2016

    Official Selection
  • Swedish International Film Festival 2016

    Official Selection
  • Nawada International Film Festival 2021

    Best Experimental Feature
  • LA Experimental Forum 2021

    Honourable Mention
  • Museum Talkies International Film Festival 2021

    Best Experimental Feature
  • Museum Talkies International Film Festival 2021

    Best New Media
  • Museum Talkies International Film Festival 2021

    Best Actor
  • Museum Talkies International Film Festival 2021

    Best Supporting Actor
  • Roshani (Reels) International Film Festival 2021

    Best Experimental Feature
  • 7Colours International Film Festival 2021

    Official Selection
  • Golden Wheat Awards 2021

    Best Experimental
  • The Gladiator Film Festival 2021

    Official Selection
  • Bettiah International Film Festival 2021

    Official Selection
  • Gully International Film Festival 2021

    Best Experimental Film
  • SSFP Film Festival 2021

    Semi Finalist
  • Masters Of Cinema International Film Festival 2021

    Official Selection
  • Ashoka International Film Festival 2021

    Honourable Mention
  • 195 Countries International Film Festival 2022

    Best Experimental Short/Feature
  • Golden Giraffe International Film Festival 2022

    Official Selection
  • Your Way International Film Festival 2022

    Official Selection
  • 8 & Halfilm Awards 2022

    Official Selection
  • Stanley Film Awards 2022

    Official Selection
  • Sweet Democracy Film Awards 2022

    Best Art House Film
  • New York Neorealism Film Awards 2022

    Official Selection
  • Arrow International Film Festival 2022

    Honourable Mention
  • Frida Film Festival 2022

    Best Experimental Film
  • Zagreb International Film Festival 2022

    Official Selection
  • Eternal International Film Festival 2023

    Official Selection
  • Golden Lemur International Film Festival 2023

    Best Experimental
  • Golden Lemur International Film Festival 2023

    Best Horror
  • Golden Lemur International Film Festival 2023

    Best Young Actor (Honourable Mention)
  • Snow Leopard International Film Festival 2023

    Best Colour Editing
  • Film Language International Film Festival 2023

    Official Selection
  • Star International Film Festival 2023

    Official Selection
  • Lotus International Film & Script Festival 2023

    Official Selection
  • Seoul International Short Film Festival 2023

    Official Selection
  • Japan International Film Festival 2023

    Best Experimental
  • Sofia International Film Festival 2023

    Official Selection
  • New Wave International Script & Film Festival 2023

    Official Selection
  • Vancouver Independent International Film Festival 2023

    Official Selection
  • Bulawayo International Film Festival Zimbabwe 2023

    Best Experimental
  • Black Owl Festival 2023

    Official Selection
  • Golden Laurel International Film Festival 2023

    Official Selection
  • Green Ciak Film Awards 2023

    Official Selection
  • International Network Film Festival 2023

    Best Experimental
  • Dialog Film Festival 2024

    Honourable Mention
  • Wild Filmmaker Festival 2024

    Best Experimental
Director Biography

Razli Dalan is a Malaysian based in the UK. Over the past few years, he has been trying to balance life, work within the medical profession and learning about cinema and filmmaking. His films are often dark, expressionistic and experimental, with evocative use of colours, soundscapes and imageries. He has made several short films. Haruan: The Snakehead (2014) is his first feature-length work.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Haruan: The Snakehead is an experiment to find an alternative cinematic platform to discuss taboos with a society which may not necessarily wish to engage them. The film is born out of diasporic anger, and my need to reconcile with unfathomable traditions and social practices in my beloved country of birth.