Mentega Terbang

Mentega Terbang is a 2021 Malaysian independent film directed by Khairi Anwar. This film was first screened on 28 November 2021 at the Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival 2021. This film tells the story of the religious conflict of a Muslim teenager, Aisyah, who delves into the theology of other major religions, especially the question of life after death.

The film was banned for hurting the religious feelings and the director and producer were charged under criminal provisions.

Plot
Muslim teenager, Aisyah, whose mother is a cancer patient near death and her father is a religious liberal, struggles to come to terms with her mother's imminent death. The family allow and encourage her to explore various religions and reads other religious texts, including the Quran, the Bible and the Vedas. This led to Aisyah being interested in the concept of reincarnation– being reborn as another being after death, in the hope of prolonging their time together. She decides that her mother must have been a butterfly in a past life because of her beauty, love of daylight, and colourful nature. Aisyah learns about Hinduism and Buddhism from her friend Suresh, and Christianity from their family friend Auntie Esthie, who converted from Hinduism as a young adult. Aiysah is surprised to learn that Auntie Esthie is a convert, thinking that, like herself, she must follow the religion she was born into. Aiysah's interest in other religions, and associations with non-Malays, gains the attention and condemnation from their conservative neighbor. After her mother dies her father tells her that she should use this time of her life to explore other beliefs and that she may freely chose whichever feels right to her. While at her mother's grave, Aisyah sees a butterfly settling on her mother's grave.

This film is the debut directorial venture of Khairi Anwar who also wrote the script with Arjun Thanaraju, Visshnu Varman and Ti Teng-Hui.

Release
Mentega Terbang was screened on 28 November 2021 behind closed doors in selected locations around the city of Kuala Lumpur.

Reception
The film received mixed responses; some praised the bravery in using such a controversial topic, and compared it to similar films by Yasmin Ahmad. Meanwhile, some Muslim Malaysians are against the scenes where Aisyah questions Islamic laws, and her father's liberal character.

The film received mixed reviews from film critics. Ellyna Ali from Getaran portal described this film as a work "full of courage" while arguing that "watching Mentega Terbang seems to take us back to the initial process when we try to know life, know God, strengthen faith and try to understand the truth of religion itself".

Ban
The director and co-scriptwriter Mohamad Khairianwar Jailani, and the producer Tan Meng Kheng were charged with wounding the religious feelings of others. They pleaded not guilty to those charges. The film was also removed from a streaming platform. Khairianwar also received death threats.