The Edge of Obedience - Malaysian Painter Ahmad Zakii Anwar

Ahmad Zakii Anwar may well be Malaysia's best-known artist. He became famous for his photo-realistic animal pictures, still life paintings and expressive portraits, which offer a timeless reinterpretation of modern Asian society. This documentary looks at the way Zakii's art continues to defy convention in an increasingly radical Islamic world.

Ahmad Zakii Anwar's paintings of naked male bodies are both provocative and fascinating, especially in a country like Malaysia, where Islamic Sharia law prevails. But they also refer to homosexuality in a society that still feels nakedness and even being different as taboo. The 62-year-old Anwar, who is one of Malaysia's most sought-after artists in Western countries, sees himself as an urban realist looking for confrontation. It is the first time a documentary has looked at the painter and his work in detail and examined its meaning in both a radicalizing society and in our liberal one. The film takes a very personal journey into the Malay artist's surreal world, where even paintings of fruit and vegetables can manage to evoke subtle erotic associations.