A new reality show, “DARA KENYALANG”, will premiere this Sunday at 3pm on TVS. It will feature our lovely Sarawakian ladies. Here, the show’s producer, director, and creator, Harry Frederick, gives us titbits about the series.
Reality show with a Sarawak twist
A new reality show will air on TVS Channel 122 beginning February 12 this year.
The series is unlike any you’ve seen before, and it’ll be incredibly interesting to watch for many reasons.
To begin with, it is a Sarawakian production that features our lovely maidens from Sarawak.
If you grew up watching reality TV shows like “Survivors”, “Project Runway”, “Akademi Fantasia” or “America’s Next Top Model”, you will understand how these series had influenced the director of this new show called “DARA KENYALANG”.
We were able to interview producer/director/creator Harry Frederick from Sarawak just before the show’s release.
Tell us about this reality show.
It is a 13-episode, one-hour show produced by Silver Halides Pictures Sdn Bhd for TVS. The title is “DARA KENYALANG” because “dara” means maiden in Iban and “Kenyalang” is always associated with Sarawak.
The show’s title is inspired by “Dara & Bujang Gawai”, a beauty pageant for male and female Dayaks held annually in Kalimantan during the Gawai festival.
This show’s format is reality show, and it begins with two episodes of auditions for participants involving two segments:
1.The indoor judging session is associated with the tradition, in which contestants dressed in their respective traditional costumes will be asked questions about their costumes, cultures, and traditions. They are also expected to put on a performance related to their traditions.
2.The second segment consists of a modern-contemporary audition similar to those seen in pageants such as “Miss Universe”, “Miss World”, and others.
The auditions were originally scheduled to take place in all 12 divisions of Sarawak. However, only participants from seven divisions took part in this season. They are from Kuching, Serian, Sibu, Kapit, Bintulu, Miri, and Limbang.
Following the auditions, the top 12 move on to the weekly episodes, with some being eliminated as the episodes progress.
You’ll be on the edge of your seat when you watch the girls tackle the challenges in each episode, wondering who will be eliminated.
There are eight challenges that involve both traditional and modern-contemporary elements.
What inspired you to create this reality show?
The initial idea came to me while observing why Sarawakians love beauty pageants, whether local or international.
To note is the Gawai celebration, where we have many beauty pageants from various ethnic races. The beauty pageant has become an important part of the Dayak and Orang Ulu celebrations. We may be impressed by their traditional costumes, but it is a much more joyful and meaningful celebration when the Kumang Gawai (Iban), Dayung (Bidayuh), and Keligit (Orang Ulu) are always present.
In recent years, we have seen our local girls win pageants such as Miss World Malaysia 2018, Larissa Ping Liew (of Kenyah descent), and Miss Universe Malaysia 2020, Francisca Luhong James (of mixed Kayan, Kenyah, and Iban ethnicity). Then, Miss Malaysia World 2014 Dewi Liana Seriestha (of Bidayuh ethnicity) won the Miss World Talent Award that same year in London.
Seeing all of this has inspired me to create this type of reality show.
Sarawak has its own TV station, TVS, which provides numerous opportunities for local content creators. There are, however, talent vacuums. We have so many projects, but we keep using the same people.
I created “DARA KENYALANG” with the goal of developing more talents for our creative arts industry and pageants.
At the same time, to aid in the preservation of our culture and heritage. Keeping traditions while moving forward with the future!
Who wrote the script and directed the film?
The show is produced by three people — myself, Mark Nyambang, and Nazirwan Samsudin.
Nur Husina Mohd Huzaifah, an experienced reality TV show writer, and I co-wrote the script.
How did you get people to participate in this competition?
From social media advertisements, word of mouth, and invitation letters.
Describe the most challenging production problem you encountered. How did you identify it and come up with a creative solution?
The most difficult aspect, in my opinion, is creating the look and feel. Despite the fact that it is a Sarawakian production, we wanted to create a show that is as classy and as good as our counterparts in West Malaysia.
We gathered experts from all races, pageants, TV productions, music and fashion, and even interior designers to collaborate on this show.
The runaway, where the contestants will showcase apparel from our local designers, is the show’s unique selling point.
The show will premiere this Sunday, February 12, at 3pm. Reruns will be available every Tuesday at 3pm.
It will run for 13 weeks, with the final episode airing on May 7 this year.
