Yasmin with the best film award for Gubra at the 19th Malaysia Film Festival in 2006.

In memory of Yasmin and her unforgettable works – both commercials (mostly the Mederka advertisements) and films (Sepet, Gubra, Mukhsin, Muallaf and Talentime) – we would like to provide some glimpses of interviews we had had with her and recap some of the more compelling quotes that she had made that were published in theSun.

» On being creative

"The greatest misconception people have about me is that I am creative. I am not trying to be humble. I believe God creates and we just observe. People who make art that is felt by other fellow human beings are sharp observers. Maybe I have been blessed with sharp observation. But I am not creative."

» On praises and awards

"When people say you are so good and you win so many awards, it is easy to be arrogant. Human beings are so flawed. We are so prone to be arrogant. I only hope God protects me from becoming [like] that. As I get older, I understand why one has to pray five times a day. Five times in a day, you are reminded that apart from God’s grace, you are nothing and that is very humbling."

» On criticisms on her work

"Things are pretty grim out there and you got to be crazy if you want to see more bitterness on the screen. You can watch a little bitterness but there must be hope. Art that doesn’t give us glimpses of God is a missed opportunity. When we talk about glimpses of God, we are talking about hope and possibilities ... and not the dark side of things."

» On highlighting sensitive issues

"I don’t think I am a controversial figure. It is just a couple of journalists who like to paint that picture of me. They have their own agendas and I don’t care to guess what their agendas are. I am slowly beginning to believe that what I am doing is not worth the trouble. My intention to highlight sensitive issues is to allow people to discuss these issues in a civilised manner. But that is not happening."

» On her biggest limitation as a filmmaker

"I often feel [that] I am not good enough. When I watch old films by Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Billy Wilder, Satyajit Ray, and early films of Stanley Kubrick, I realise their films are so much better and they were made so long ago. They made me feel a kind of nothing. My biggest limitation in this country and anywhere else is myself. I feel I [still] have a long way to go."

» On the inspiration for her work

"From real life. From people. Only people interest me. How people handle love and hate and how people choose between the two."

» On being a versatile director

"To be told I have a part-icular trend in my films is not an insult to me. All the directors I admired have consistent themes in their movies. People have asked me, why don’t I make a war or sci-fi film and prove that I am a versatile filmmaker. I never went into films to be a versatile director. I went into it to examine emotions. If you want versatility, go for somebody else."

» On how she would like to be remembered

"It is not so important for me to be remembered. Ego and arrogance are things that God doesn’t approve of. I like people to remember the love and compassion that is so prevalent in my films. Some people choose not to see it. They see other things."

» On her movies being controversial

"It surprises me that my movies are controversial. It surprises me that people are shocked by a Malay girl in a baju kurung going to a party. Going to a party is not the worst thing that a Malay girl in baju kurung has done. My films are so tame compared to real life. It surprises me when I show a scene of an elderly couple very much in love; people call it obscene. But almost on a weekly basis, they watch Malay dramas where husbands betray their wives, marry more than one, shout at their wives and beat them. And this is not shocking?"

» On having humanity elements in her work

"If you believe in humanity, you will care for everybody. The influence to see a colourless society came from my parents, particularly my mother who has friends of all races. She brought up her children to have a positive interest in people who are different. She often told me that people are people and when you see people who are different from you, do not shut them out and do not suspect the worst in them."

» On her school days

"My mother deliberately enrolled me in a school where I was the only Malay. I had some tough times. Some of my classmates said to my face that Malays are lazy and I even had teachers who said [that] if you are Malay then you cannot master English, Maths and Science.

"I complained to my mum and she said that I should prove them wrong. When you get people from other races discriminating against you, you come to a crossroads – you can either make your future as chicken shit or chicken salad. I can feel this is a bad thing, I will never behave this way. But most people choose vengeance. I choose to make chicken salad."