Yasmin Ahmad named AdFest Lotus Legend

AdFest has honoured the late Malaysian creative leader Yasmin Ahmad with the 3rd annual Lotus Legend award. Akira Kagami, Executive Advisor & Global Executive Creative Advisor of Dentsu Inc, was the first Lotus Legend in 2012, followed by David Droga, founder of Droga5 in 2013.

“I’m very happy about Yasmin Ahmad being named this year’s Lotus Legend. She was a wonderful talent who was always fighting against prejudice and discrimination. She had a passion for fighting back with her creativity. She was a remarkable person who was very much a free spirit,” says Jimmy Lam, President of AdFest.

As one of the few film directors and screenwriters in the small Malaysian film industry to make an international impact, Ahmad will continue to be known as a creative legend.

A woman of astonishing talents, Ahmad was an accomplished director and screenwriter whose feature films had a global following. Rumor has it that sometimes when pitching to clients, she wouldn’t even show storyboards – she would only talk, and her words would bring the room to tears.

Ahmad began her advertising career as a copywriter at Ogilvy & Mather and continued her success as an Executive Creative Director at Leo Burnett Kuala Lumpur. Her breakthrough as a film director came with her first feature film Rabun in 2002, and her films featured in the Singapore International Film Festival and the 19th Tokyo International Film Festival.

She was most recognized for her ability to reach out to people through various social causes, which transpired into her films – perhaps her most amazing quality. Her ability to creatively and successfully deliver messages through her commercial work and films has awarded her the highest respect.

AdFest invited Ahmad’s husband, Yew Leong Tan, to accept the Lotus Legend trophy at its second annual Award Presentation on 8th March. Unfortunately, Tan is currently on a shoot in Jakarta and requested Mr Kagami accept the award on Ahmad’s behalf.

“Her passing away was a big loss for our region. Maybe if she were still working today she would be a kind of guide or lighthouse for us to show which direction we should go in,” says Kagami. “Yasmin didn’t believe in logic, she was always working with her heart, which is very much an Asian trait.”

Although no longer with us, Ahmad’s legacy lives on.

Now in its third year of existence, Lotus Legend is given in honour of long-serving creative excellence in the region. To be considered as a recipient of the Lotus Legend, candidates must first be nominated by an AdFest judge. Each of the 56 judges on this year’s Lotus Awards Juries was asked to put forward one contender who has achieved creative excellence while working in the Asia Pacific region, as well as being a role model for junior creatives. The jury then voted on the top three nominations, and Ahmad emerged as the clear winner.