Melissa
2018 · 28m · Malaysia
Directed by Sahira Jeffry
Genres: crime, drama, thriller
A nine-year-old girl escaping an abusive home is abducted by Razman, a soft-spoken organ trafficker who treats her with unexpected kindness. As an emotional bond forms between captor and captive, Razman's brutal father — mastermind of the trafficking ring — threatens Melissa's life, forcing Razman to choose between loyalty and saving her.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
The moral inversion here—finding safety in the arms of your trafficker—should feel exploitative or confused, but Jeffry refuses to sentimentalize either side, which is genuinely subversive; most films would collapse into easy villain-redemption or trauma-porn, and she does neither.
Jeffry's restraint positions this within a lineage of intimate crime cinema (Haneke, Koreeda) where proximity doesn't excuse, and the formal rigor of her editing keeps emotional moments from bleeding into manipulation—this is a student film that understands the weight of its own premise.
The decision to let Razman's kindness remain small and unglamorous—a meal, attention, basic respect—rather than grandiose rescue turns the entire film on a hinge; on a student budget, that one choice of restraint over melodrama makes everything land with singular force.
Reviews
Melissa is a short film by Malaysian filmmaker Sahira Jeffry — a passionate filmmaker who puts her heart into her storytelling, tugging at the emotions of audiences with the visuals of her films.
A drama-thriller exploring the need for companionship, where comfort is found not at home but elsewhere — examining innocence within a dangerous environment.
Festivals
- Asia Southeast Short Film Festival Winter 2019, Honourable Mention