Historiophoty: Reinterpreting the History in Mat Kilau: Kebangkitan Pahlawan (2022)

Robert A. Rosenstone’s concept of historiophoty clarifies how historical films can transform facts into visual narratives by integrating factual accuracy with fictional elements, thus crafting creative storytelling that shapes communal memory and meaning. Historical films, as Rosenstone argues, do not depict history; rather, they produce it by fusing drama, narrative, and visuals to bridge the gap between the past and present. Syamsul Yusof examined this method in his work Mat Kilau: Kebangkitan Pahlawan (2022), which reinterprets the valour of the Malay warrior Mat Kilau in the context of the resistance against British colonisation during the Pahang Uprising from 1891 to 1895. The film integrated historical events with fictional storytelling to align the narrative with societal collective memory. By portraying Mat Kilau as a figure of anti-colonial resistance and heroic myth-making, his character transcends mere historical individuality to become a lasting emblem of national identity and sovereignty. . This paper examines how historiophoty weighs historical fact and fiction in constructing a cinematic narrative for the satisfaction of contemporary aspirations. The paper shows how historical film can create a new sense of collective memory and cultural identity by reinterpreting historical reality in a film and placing an emphasis on national resistance. It thus places Mat Kilau: Kebangkitan Pahlawan as both a new historical document and a cultural artifact, adding to the wider debates about the role of visual media in historical representation and societal narrativisation.