The Vanishing Song, a new documentary short from Academy Award‑winning filmmaker Ruby Yang and Malaysian wildlife filmmaker Myles Storey, begins its theatrical run at IFC Center in New York Friday, September 18. The 37‑minute film offers an intimate, urgent portrait of a wild lar gibbon living on the edge of survival in an increasingly urbanized Malaysia.
At the center of The Vanishing Song is Han, a lone gibbon whose forest home has been replaced by highways, housing estates, and power lines. His calls echo across a city that cannot answer back. Han’s story is both deeply personal and emblematic of a larger crisis: all five gibbon species in Malaysia are now endangered, their habitats shrinking as development accelerates.
The film follows the unprecedented effort to translocate a wild gibbon from an urban environment to a national park — a complex operation involving researchers, conservationists, local communities, government agencies, and NGOs. Inspired by the late Dr. Jane Goodall, the documentary captures the urgency, uncertainty, and hope surrounding Han’s rescue.
The Vanishing Song highlights the fragile future of Malaysia’s ecosystems and the species that depend on them. Through immersive footage and on‑the‑ground storytelling, the film underscores the stakes of conservation work and the need for stronger environmental protections. The filmmakers hope Han’s journey will inspire new advocates and reinforce the importance of preserving the forests that sustain wildlife across Southeast Asia.
FILMMAKERS
Ruby Yang Academy Award–winning filmmaker known for intimate, character‑driven documentaries exploring overlooked communities across Asia. She teaches and mentors emerging filmmakers at the University of Hong Kong.
Myles Storey Malaysian wildlife and documentary filmmaker whose work is shaped by witnessing the ecological decline of the Bornean rainforest. His previous credits include Finding Solo.
CREDITS & PRODUCTION
Produced by: Peter Ong, Tiong Piow Lim, Ruby Yang
Edited by: Sebastian Ng (M for Malaysia)
Score by: Brian Keane (Against Wind and Tide, The Battle Over Citizen Kane) and Christopher Lai (Back to the Past)
Runtime: 37 minutes
Languages: English, Chinese, Malay
Shot on location: Malaysia
Produced by: Hylo Films and School of Future Media (The University of Hong Kong)
In collaboration with: Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots Malaysia
Official Site: www.thevanishingsong.com
