`Anak Halal’ Leads in Awards Nominations

By Sharifah Arfah

KUALA LUMPUR: Anak Halal, a drama exploring social ills in urban settings, leads the pack of nominees for the 21st Malaysian Film Festival, with 12 nominations out of 24 categories.

The film, produced by Tayangan Unggul Sdn Bhd, sees director Osman Ali being nominated for best director, as well as best original story and best script.

It also secured nods for best actor (Farid Kamil), best actress (Maya Karin), best cinematography, best original score, best supporting actor, best art direction, best sound, best costume and best poster.

A close second in the race with 11 nominations is Kala Malam Bulan Mengambang, a black-and-white neo-noir parody directed by Mamat Khalid and also produced by Tayangan Unggul.

Other multiple nominees include Wayang, a film about wayang kulit produced by Universiti Teknologi Mara and directed by Dr Hatta Azad Khan (10 nominations), supernatural thriller Susuk (eight nominations), period film 1957: Hati Malaya (seven nominations) and romantic drama Sepi (five nominations).

The best film nominees will only be revealed on the awards night on Saturday.

The festival’s 24 categories are divided into 13 Perdana Awards and 11 Cipta Awards. More than RM400,000 in cash prizes will be given out to winners, with the best film winning RM50,000 and the best director, RM25,000.

The three-day film festival will kick off on Thursday with a film symposium at the National Art Gallery from 9am to 5pm, followed by premieres of two films – Wayang and Kami – at Golden Screen Cinemas in Alamanda Putrajaya at 8pm.

The highlight of the festival is the awards night at Putrajaya International Convention Centre, which Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is expected to attend.

Themed “Towards Excellence in Film Production”, the festival is organised by the National Film Development Corporation, Federation of Malaysian Film Association and Film Producers’ Association of Malaysia.

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