The Royal Press

**Winner of two awards at the 4th Malaysia Documentary Awards 2013, for Best Cinematography and Best Arts & Culture Documentary.**

Ee Soon Wei is a young man with a mission to save his family's heritage, and coincidentally one of Malaysia's oldest printing establishments, The Royal Press.

Set in the historic city and UNESCO World Heritage Site of Malacca, Malaysia, we follow Soon Wei's arduous journey in preserving the 70-year-old printing press, the oldest in Malaysia, amidst the overzealous development of Malacca town where traditional communities are displaced by the inexorable drive for profit and mass tourism.

Coming from a family of publishers and pressers, Soon Wei has never really been interested in the family business nor his family's origins. Only after returning to his hometown and stepping onto the dark, dusty wooden floors of the Royal Press, has he felt the re-connection of his past, especially to his grandfather, Ee Lay Swee, who founded the printing outfit in 1938 but passed away shortly after, and to his grandmother, with her business acumen to have kept the production alive and flourishing until her death.

We see Soon Wei unraveling the mysteries and historical charm of The Royal Press and at the same time discovering his family roots too. He shares with us the old pressing machines, the thousands of metal Chinese characters types, the secret third floor of the shop where the family kept ledgers of non-Japanese related publications secret from the authorities during the Japanese Occupation, the thousands of publications of old colonial newspapers, magazines, posters, government propaganda, and even wedding cards that they’ve published.

But the future doesn’t look bright for this relic of commercial progress. None of the younger generation of the Ee family have an interest in taking over the family business, and it’s facing a losing battle with the more modern and profitable printing shops. The Royal Press is on the brink of closing down, and if it does, Soon Wei’s family tradition and Malaysia’s history will be gone forever.

Soon Wei is adamant in saving his family heirloom. And he will do this by converting it into a living museum, where it will invite everyone from all walks of to enter its doors.

Will Soon Wei succeed in preserving and conserving his family relic and keeping Malaysia’s history alive? Join Soon Wei in “The Royal Press” on this unforgettable journey.