Documenting Promises

Rahmah Pauzi acknowledges hope through her work and shares her journey into filmmaking 

- Aaron Pereira 

Growing up in a middle-class family, Rahmah Pauzi remembers being surrounded by books and quickly outgrowing what would be considered children’s books. “I kind of got over Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and such quite fast, and started picking up on non-fiction material. When I was seven or eight, I began reading newspapers, and the headlines really captivated me,” reveals the eldest of two children.

While thrilled to be able to relate to adults and understand the goings-on of the time, Rahmah also realised the power of media. “I started noticing how accessible and influential newspapers can be. That was also when I realised that real life can sometimes be even more dramatic than fairy tales and fiction,” she shares.

And it’s this revelation that made her want to pursue journalism. “I was like, ‘yeah, I want to be a journalist,’ because I felt like if I could contribute to a newspaper, maybe I can change the world, or at least incite some emotions, or share different points of views that others can relate to,” Rahmah recounts. Thus, her ambition grew from there, albeit it took a slightly different spin.