‘Huminodun’ tells of the eponymous legendary goddess of Sabah. — Handout via CinemaOnline

KOTA KINABALU, Nov 28 — The tale of Huminodun is no doubt one of the most well-known throughout the Land Below the Wind, where her sacrifice for her people is still celebrated to this day in the form of Kaamatan or the Harvest Festival in Sabah.

The people of Sabah, along with Hollywood's Aaron Cowan, have taken on the task of bringing the folklore to the silver screen and the result is Huminodun, a movie that tells of the goddess's iconic story.

Set in the time when gods walked the land in Sabah, Alexandra Alexander stars as the titular goddess, also known as Ponompuan, whose parents — the gods Sumundu (Jenifer Lasimbang) and Kinoingan (Boni Mosios) — scourge the land after her brother Ponompulan (Hazli Bojili) turns the people against their creators. Ponompuan must now find a way to save the world, even if it means sacrificing herself.

The movie is the first-of-its-kind to be made on such a grand scale and filmed fully in Sabah, with 99 per cent of the cast and crew made up of Sabahans, and featuring 250 visual effects shots all created in the Bornean state.

The writer and director, Aaron Cowan, brings the Hollywood touch to the local movie. Cowan's credits in his 20 years of working in the Hollywood industry include handling special effects productions on movies such as The Lord of the Rings, Avatar, Man of Steel, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and the Narnia movies.

Meanwhile, Kadazan Sabahan Jo Luping, who acts as producer and associate director, has also had experience working on The Lord of the Rings, New Zealand television productions and an award-winning Middle East documentary.

Huminodun is set to make its premiere at MBO Cinemas Imago in Kota Kinabalu on December 3, 2017. — CinemaOnline