Syafiq Yusof

In this Malay name, there is no surname or family name. The name Mohd Yusof is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by their given name, Mohd Syafiq.

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.

Syafiq Yusof
شفيق يوسف‎
Born	Mohd Syafiq bin Mohd Yusof (1992-12-07) 7 December 1992 (age 32) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Occupation(s)	Film director, screenwriter, producer, actor
Years active	2008–present
Spouse	Aisyeah Zainal ​ (m. 2014)​
Children	3
Parents	Yusof Haslam (father) Fatimah Ismail (mother)
Relatives	Syamsul Yusof (brother)

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.^[1] 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.^[2]

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.^[3]

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.^[4] 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.^[5]

Syafiq subsequently directed his fifth film which began principal photography on 13 November 2014 in Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya.^[6] 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.^[6] For this film, he utilized the Anton-Babinski syndrome metaphor as a subject into the storyline^[6][7] and using special effects to blanking the city of Kuala Lumpur.^[8][9] It also stars Jalaluddin Hassan, Pekin Ibrahim, and Bella Dally.^[10][11]

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,^[12] behind Munafik directed by his brother, which grossed RM 17.04 million.^[13]

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).^[14] 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.^[15]

His latest effort, a psychological horror Misteri Dilaila was released on 21 February 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.^[16]

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.^[17]

Personal life

Syafiq married with his long-time girlfriend, Aisyeah Zainal on 5 April 2014.^[18][19] The couple have three children, namely two daughters – Nuur Jannah (born 2016),^[20] Nuur Nusaybah (born 2018)^[21] and a son - Muhamad Nu'Aiman (born 2023).^[22]

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				Web film Co-directed with Faisal Ishak
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
2025	Soloz: Game of Life
	Blood Brothers		Story		co-directed with Abhilash Chandra

Television movie

Year	Title	Credited as		Notes
		Director	Producer
2021	Penunggang Agama			script by Nazri M Annuar
	Penunggang Agama 2			script by Nazri M Annuar
2024	Telekinesis			script by Nazifdin Nasrudin / Also as a editor

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
2024–2025	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

Year	Award	Recipient	Nominated works	Category	Result	Ref.
2013	25th Malaysian Film Festival	Syafiq Yusof	SAM	Best Director	Nominated
				Best Editing	Nominated
				Most Promising Director	Won	[23]
2017	2017 PROFIMA Awards		Desolasi	Best Director	Won	[24]
	29th Malaysian Film Festival		Abang Long Fadil 2	Box Office Film	Won	[25]
2019	31st Malaysian Film Festival		Misteri Dilaila	Best Editing	Nominated
2022	32nd Malaysian Film Festival		Abang Long Fadil 3	Best Director	Nominated
				Best Screenplay	Nominated
				Best Editing	Nominated