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Mohd Syafiq bin Mohd Yusof (born 7 December 1992) is a Malaysian filmmaker and visual effects artist. He is a younger brother of actor Syamsul Yusof and son of veteran actor Yusof Haslam. Initially began his career by making short films, his directorial debut, SAM: Saya Amat Mencintaimu was released in 2012. Since then, he directed seven notable films, all of which became commercial successes.

Early life

Syafiq Yusof was born on 7 December 1992 in Kuala Lumpur. He hails from a family of filmmakers and actors. His older brother, Syamsul is an actor and film director who is well-known for directing horror film series Munafik and Munafik 2, as well as Mat Kilau (film), the latter of which currently ranks as the highest-grossing Malaysian made film. His cousins Rizal Ashreff, Sabrina Ali, Aliff Ali and Miller Khan are also actors. His father is a veteran actor turned film director cum producer, Yusof Haslam.

Career

Hailing from the well-known Yusof family, Syafiq began his filmmaking career by making short films. SAM: Saya Amat Mencintaimu, his feature film directorial debut, starring Shaheizy Sam and Lisa Surihani, was released on 19 August 2012 during the Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration. Also in the same year, he and his cousin, Rizal Ashreff co-directed Evolusi KL Drift: The Series, a TV series adaptation from 2008 film, Evolusi KL Drift directed by his brother, Syamsul Yusof, who reprised his role in the TV series.

On 11 January 2013, Syafiq and his two business partners set-up Viper Studios which specializes in film production, visual effects, post-production, and animation, where he served as the Chief Executive Officer.

A year later, he directed Abang Long Fadil, a spin-off from 2011 film, KL Gangster, one of its main star, Zizan Razak reprising his role as Fadil. The film was released in May 2014 to popular success. His third movie, a horror documentary film entitled Villa Nabila was released in January 2015, starring Pekin Ibrahim and Tisha Shamsir, which is based on the 2013 eponymous bungalow incident.

Syafiq subsequently directed his fifth film which began principal photography on 13 November 2014 in Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya. Released on 8 December 2016, a mystery science fiction Desolasi starring his brother Syamsul as Aiman, a visual artist who deals with never-ending problems starts to wonder the judgment given by God which brings him to stuck in another dimension leading him being fully alone until he starts meeting a mysterious woman named Maya. For this film, he utilized the Anton-Babinski syndrome metaphor as a subject into the storyline and using special effects to blanking the city of Kuala Lumpur. It also stars Jalaluddin Hassan, Pekin Ibrahim, and Bella Dally.

His seventh film, Abang Long Fadil 2 was released on 24 August 2017. With a budget estimated RM 3.2 million, the film earns highest grossed more than RM 18.15 million, behind Munafik directed by his brother, which grossed RM 17.04 million.

On 8 March 2018, his action film KL Special Force was released, starring Rosyam Nor, Fattah Amin and his brother, who played Asyraf, a leader of the Anarchy Gang (Geng Anarkis). The film sets up new record in Malaysian film industry by garnering highest box office grossing more than RM12.1 million and received mixed positive reviews from film critics.

His latest effort, a psychological horror Misteri Dilaila was released on February 21, 2019. Principal photography took place in Fraser's Hill, Pahang; the film was starring Zul Ariffin, Elizabeth Tan, Rosyam Nor, Namron, Sasqia Dahuri and others.

It was announced in September 2019 that he would be directing the third sequel of Polis Evo with Shaheizy Sam and Zizan Razak reprising their respective roles.

Personal life

Syafiq married with his long-time girlfriend, Aisyeah Zainal on 5 April 2014. The couple have three children, namely two daughters – Nuur Jannah (born 2016), Nuur Nusaybah (born 2018) and a son - Muhamad Nu'Aiman (born 2023).

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Credited as			Notes
		Director	Writer	Producer
2010	Abangku Gengster				Short film
	Hantu Takde Kepala
	Abangku Gengster II
	Lorong				Short film; also as editor and Director of Photography
2011	Along				Short film
2012	SAM: Saya Amat Mencintaimu				Directorial debut, also as editor
2014	Abang Long Fadil				Also as editor
2015	Villa Nabila				Documentary film
2016	Mat Moto				Co-directed with Pekin Ibrahim
	Desolasi				Also as editor
2017	Abang Long Fadil 2				Also as editor
2018	KL Special Force				Also as editor
2019	Misteri Dilaila
	Rise to Power: KLGU				Co-directed with Faisal Ishak
2021	Penunggang Agama
	Penunggang Agama 2
2022	Abang Long Fadil 3				Also an editor
2023	Polis Evo 3				Also as visual effects artist
	Budak Flat				As supervising director
2024	Sheriff: Narko Integriti				Also as editor with Nazifdin Nasrudin
	Telekinesis				Also as editor
2025	Soloz: Game of Life
	Blood Brothers				In production & co-directed with Abhilash Chandra

Television series

Year	Title	Credited as		Notes
		Director	Producer
2008–2013	Roda-Roda Kuala Lumpur			Direct only few episode, also actor
2009–2011, 2014–2021	Gerak Khas			2009–2011 - direct only few episode, 2014–2021 - as co-producer
2012–2013	Evolusi KL Drift: The Series			Also actor as Daniel, co-director with Rizal Ashraff
2015	Cinta Dari Marikh			Also actor as Adam
2018	KL Gangster: Underworld
2020	KL Gangster: Underworld 2
2021–2022	Gerak Khas Undercover			Also as co-director and co-producer
2023	Special Force: Anarchy
2024	Polis Peronda			Also as co-director

Music video

Year	Title	Artist	Director
2012	"Nyawaku"	DJ Dave
	"Sempurnakan Aku"	Anuar Zain
	"Ajari Aku"
2013	"Jalan Bersimpang"	Filsuf and Sleeq
2014	"Cobaan"	Zizan Razak
2016	"Kalah Dalam Menang"	Syamsul Yusof and Mawi
	"Bukan Propaganda"

Awards and nominations

References

1. Wahiduzzaman (23 Ogos 2012). Eksperimen Syafiq Yusof Menjadi Dalam 'SAM' mStar. Diperoleh pada 1 September 2012.
2. Wartawan Sinar Harian (22 September 2012). 2 pengarah muda arah drama bersiri Skop Productions Sinar Harian. Retrieved on 24 March 2018.
3. "Viper Studios: About Us". Viper Studios. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
4. Feride Hikmet Atak (10 June 2014). "Abang Long Fadil berpaksikan dunia gengsterisme". mStar Online. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
5. Raziatul Hanum A. Rajak (10 January 2015). "Villa Nabila: Dari kisah sebenar ke layar perak". Sinar Harian. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
6. ^ Bibi Nurshuhada Ramli (9 December 2016). "Mind-boggling Desolasi takes local CGI films staggering new heights". New Straits Times. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
7. Dennis Chua (18 January 2016). "Syafiq Yusof directs elder brother Syamsul in Desolasi". New Straits Times. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
8. Angelin Yeoh (6 December 2016). "How did Syafiq Yusof empty the streets of KL for Desolasi?". Star2. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
9. Syafil Syazwan Jefri (2 November 2016). "Syafiq 'kosong' lokasi sibuk KL". Harian Metro. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
10. Syanty Octavia Amry (7 December 2016). "Minda celaru mencari jawapan". Harian Metro. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
11. Bibi Nurshuhada Ramli (9 December 2016). "In a league of its own: Desolasi represents a new direction for M'sian films, banking on CGI". New Straits Times. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
12. Akmal Abdullah (22 November 2015). "Filem 'Abang Long Fadil 2' bakal jalani penggambaran 50 hari, kos RM3.2 juta" (in Malay). Tabloidseni.com. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
13. Mumtaj Begum (10 March 2016). "Malaysian horror flick Munafik set to scare other films off". Star2. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
14. Elrafaei Sapi (16 August 2016). "KL Special Force Filem Aksi Setanding Hollywood". Rojak Daily. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
15. Dennis Chua (4 April 2018). "#Showbiz: KL Special Force powers on RM12.1 million collection". New Straits Times. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
16. Bissme S. "Playing mind games". The Sun (Malaysia). Retrieved 14 February 2019.
17. Amri Hassan (25 September 2019). "Polis EVO 3 bakal shoot tidak lama lagi" - Peminat teruja tunggu kemunculan Zizan dan Sam Astro Gempak. Dicapai pada 3 December 2019.
18. Hanan Mansor (20 April 2014). "Majlis resepsi sederhana tapi meriah". Sinar Harian. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
19. "SYAFIQ YUSOF KINI SUAMI AEISHA". Media Hiburan. 5 April 2014. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
20. "Syafiq Yusof, Isteri Selamat Timang Cahaya Mata Pertama". Rotikaya. 1 January 2016. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
21. Norhidayyu Zainal (5 February 2018). "Syafiq Yusof timang anak kedua". Sinar Harian. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
22. "Syafiq Yusof dapat anak ketiga". Harian Metro. 8 February 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
23. Nurezzatul Aqmar Mustaza (1 March 2013). "Syafiq julang trofi Pengarah Harapan". Sinar Harian. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
24. Muhamad Fairoz Azizan (7 November 2017). "Syafiq Yusof menang Pengarah Terbaik Anugerah PROFIMA". Berita Harian. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
25. Angelin Yeoh (30 December 2017). "Year of Champions: Director Syafiq Yusof and his success with 'Abang Long Fadil 2'". Star2. Retrieved 14 April 2018.

External links

• Syafiq Yusof at IMDb

• Malaysia
• Biography
• Television
• Film

• 1992 births
• Living people
• People from Kuala Lumpur
• Malaysian people of Malay descent
• Malaysian people of Pakistani descent
• Malaysian Muslims
• Malaysian male actors
• Malaysian film directors
• Malaysian screenwriters
• Malaysian film producers
• Malay-language film directors
• 21st-century Malaysian male actors