COVER STORY: TALENT TIME

2009/08/05

FARIDUL ANWAR FARINORDIN

Younger, indie talents making thought-provoking films for a global audience — like the late Yasmin Ahmad — are tipped to shine in this year’s Malaysian Film Festival, writes FARIDUL ANWAR FARINORDIN. IS the film industry getting “younger”?
Looking at this year’s list of nominations at the 22nd Malaysian Film Festival (FFM22), new and young talents are getting the nods in major award categories including for best supporting or lead roles, further reinforcing the need for an updated look for the industry as we celebrate our 52nd Merdeka this month.

For so long, the industry’s rallying cry “filem kita, wajah kita” (our film, our identity) is like one tired-looking and uninspiring man who seemed nonchalant to the changes around him. Over the last few years however, “he” is beginning to look refreshed, relevant and attractive.

For the FFM22, the film directors who were picked in recognition of their works (for Best Director and Most Promising Director) included those in the “independent” circuits, known for their fresh approach in storytelling that strikes a chord with the younger audience.

For example, the late Yasmin Ahmad leads the nomination’s list in three categories, namely, Best Director, Best Original Story and Best Screenplay for her work in the heartwarming movie Talentime. The movie leads the nominations list with a total of 11 in various categories.

When the Best Film category (see sidebar) is announced on the awards night, scheduled to be held at Dewan Canselor Universiti Malaysia Sabah in Kota Kinabalu on Saturday, it is predicted that Talentime would be on that list — and this is more than just for sentimental reasons.

Talentime, Yasmin’s last movie (the director passed away on July 25), is likely to follow the success of her first feature film Sepet which, at the FFM18 in 2004, bagged Best Film, Best Original Screenplay (Yasmin), Best Poster, Best Supporting Actress (Ida Nerina), Most Promising Actor (Ng Choo Seong) and Most Promising Actress (Sharifah Amani Zainal Rashid Al-Yahya).
With Talentime bagging this coveted award, it would be seen as an honour to Yasmin’s entire celluloid legacy. She certainly deserves it.

A head film jury at FFM some years back once said that “in this industry, even trash glitters”. Now, that glow is coming from real gems thanks to Yasmin, who challenged filmmakers to think outside of the box and indirectly paved the way for a more vibrant industry with a bright future.

What makes it even more fitting to honour Yasmin at this year’s FFM lies in its theme: “Filem Malaysia Ke Persada Dunia” (Malaysian Films for the International Arena). Enough said.
Coming back to the Best Film category, many hope to see the 3-D animation hit film featuring favourite loud-mouthed and funny pre-school TV characters Upin and Ipin, Geng: Pengembaraan Bermula to be one of the final nominees.

And why not, the cool family adventure is so far our best money-spinner in animation after such stinkers as Silat Lagenda (1998) and Puteh (2001).
Geng: Pengembaraan Bermula also signals the impact of 3-D technology as opposed to the more traditional 2-D. We can expect to see more winners using such celluloid technology, all thanks to the adventures of two bald toddlers.
There’s nothing wrong with having an animation in this category — Disney’s Beauty and the Beast was in the running for Best Picture at the 1991 Academy Awards.

Altogether there are 26 feature films, 67 short films, six digital films, 23 animations and 94 documentaries submitted for this year’s event.

Two films which are nominated this year are not yet released, namely, the social drama by Nazir Jamaluddin, Jalang and the comedy by Afdlin Shauki, Papadom.
Papadom trails closely behind Talentime with nine nominations, followed by Khabir Bhatia’s eight for comedy of errors, Setem.

“It’s a competitive year for the films because they are all equally good. In previous years, only one or two films dominated,” said National Film Development Corporation (Finas) director-general Mohd Mahyidin Mustakim.

When asked to comment if the industry is embracing new and young talents, he said: “It’s a healthy trend that is also reflected in the wide spectrum of genres (science-fiction, fantasy, action, comedy, drama and horror) nominated this year.”

And true to form, the current robust industry is reflected at the box office.

“Box-office reception for local films increased by 40 per cent last year, with a total collection of RM43 million as compared with the previous year’s RM30 million,” Mahyidin said.
About RM50 million in sales is to be expected to be raked in by the end of the year.

He said the recent brouhaha that puts the chill on illegal racers, transvestites and those associated with such “immoral” culture did not affect the judging in this year’s FFM, which has a jalang and a bohsia (Bohsia: Jangan Pilih Jalan Hitam) competing in different categories.

“The jury members are looking at creative and technical areas, not subject matter,” said Mahyidin, adding that Finas hasn’t heard anything about a ‘new’ ruling on this issue.”

Six hundred delegation members will arrive in Kota Kinabalu for the event beginning today, the largest FFM contingent to date since the event began taking place outside of Kuala Lumpur.
“We decided to take the festival out of KL five years ago because support for the event was dwindling, especially at free films screenings and the awards night. So, we decided to bring the industry to meet fans at grass root level.”

He said the overwhelming response given during the FFM20 in Penang showed that there was much support from fans outside of KL.

“Even when we had it in Putrajaya International Convention Centre last year, as many as 3,000 people arrived for the awards night.”

The nominated films will have their public screenings tomorrow, Friday and Saturday at GSC One Borneo and GSC Kilan Kota Kinabalu.

“Six thousand tickets have been snapped up since they were made available at the FFM secretariat a few weeks ago. We’re going to issue 1,500 more,” said Mohd Mahyidin.

Other festival events include film workshops, symposiums, meet-the-artiste sessions, a tribute night for film legends from Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, as well as visits to charity homes.

Co-organised by Finas, Malaysian Film Producers Association and Gabungan Karyawan Filem Malaysia, FFM22 is supported and endorsed by the Information, Communication, Arts and Culture Ministry and the Sabah state government.

Note: FFM22 takes place from today to Saturday at the University Malaysia Sabah in Kota Kinabalu. The awards presentation show will be aired live over TV2 at 8.30pm.

The Top 5 finalists

Best Director:
Pierre Andre — Jangan Tegur
Afdlin Shauki — Papadom
Ahmad Idham — Syurga Cinta
Yasmin Ahmad — Talentime
Bade Azmi — Maut

Best Male Actor:
Que Haidar — Maut
Afdlin Shauki — Papadom
Rashidi Ishak — Setem
Awal Ashaari — Syurga Cinta
Mahesh J. Kishor — Talentime

Best Female Actor:
Nabila Huda — Bohsia
Nadia Mustafar — Jangan Tegur
Liyana Jasmay — Papadom
Sharifah Amani — Sayang U Can Dance
Heliza Helmi — Syurga Cinta

Best Screen Play:
Afdlin Shauki — Papadom
Ahmad Idham — Syurga Cinta
Bade Azmi — Maut
Syamsul Yusof — Bohsia
Yasmin Ahmad — Talentime

Best Story:
Afdlin Shauki — Papadom
Yasmin Ahmad — Talentime
Fariza Azlina Isahak — Kami The Movie
Nor Shuhadatul Ain — Syurga Cinta
Bade Azmi — Maut

Best Cinematography:
Mohd Nor Kasim — Setem
Mohd Filus Ghazali — Cicakman 2
Omar Ismail — Bohsia
Mohd Helmi Yusof — Histeria
Low Soon Keong — Talentime

Best Editing:
Faizul Mohd Noh — Setem
Bade Azmi — Maut
Mohd Elmy Khalim — Cicakman 2
Raja Affandi Jamaluddin — Talentime
Syamsul Yusof — Bohsia

Best Musical Score:
Pete Teo — Talentime
Syed Ahmad Faizal — Setem
Syed Ahmad Faizal — Papadom
Edry Abd Halim — Cicakman 2
Wong Yuri — Geng: Pengembaraan Bermula

Best Comedy Film:
Los dan Faun — Vision Works
Cicakman 2 — KRU Studios
Senario The Movie: Episod 1 — MIG Production
Sifu Dan Tongga ­— Primeworks Studios
Brainscan — MIG Production

Best Animation:
My Telatori — The One Academy of Communication Design
Upin & Ipin Dan Kawan—kawan:
Kembara ke Pulau Harta Karun —
Les’ Copaque Production Sdn Bhd.
Still Alive — The One Academy of Communication Design

Best Short Film:
Perempuan Itu — Malaysia Institute of Integrative Media
Rumah Kecilku Ada Kelambu — Universiti Teknologi Mara
Permata Bonda — Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia

Best Digital Film:
Vikrant — Super Arts Production
Tiga Budak Melayu — Universiti Teknologi Mara
Aathma — Demaz Entertainment Sdn Bhd.

Best Documentary:
Gaza — Primeworks Studios
Bumi Pribumi — Finas & Q—Plex Communication
Rosli Dhoby — Astro Entertainment
Inside Silat — Finas & Technonius Sdn Bhd.

Best Male Supporting Actor:
Shaheizy Sam — Bohsia
Nas—T — Kami The Movie
Que Haidar — Papadom
Indi Nadarajah — Setem
Mohd. Shafie Naswip — Talentime

Best Female Supporting Actor:
Salina Saibi — Bohsia
Scha Al Yahya — Histeria
Norkhiriah — Papadom
Vanidah Imran — Setem
Adibah Nor — Talentime

Best Art Direction:
Nazrul Azraff Mahzan — Maut
Nazrul Azraff Mahzan — Papadom
Nazrul Azraff Mahzan — Setem
Wong Voon Leong — Talentime
Yusry Abdul Halim/Johan Lucas — Cicakman 2

Best Sound Effects:
Ad Audia Ex — Histeria
Azman Abu Hassan/Wan Shazrin Izzuan — Setem
Azman Abu Hassan — Maut
Mohd Mohsin Othman — Cicakman 2
Azri Abu Kamal — Rasukan Ablasa

Best Child Actor:
Mohd Hadziq — Syurga Cinta
Nik Farid Idrus — Brainscan
Siti Nasrina — Momok The Movie
Pathieswaran — Jomlah C.I.U.M

Most Promising Male Actor:
Isma Yusof — Setem
Faizal Ramli — Momok The Movie
Zahiril Adzim — Kami The Movie
Nabil Ahmad — Sifu dan Tongga
Mohd. Radhi — Antoo Fighter

Most Promising Female Actor:
Heliza Helmi — Syurga Cinta
Zalina — Jin Hutan
Yasmin Khaniff — Jalang
Jaclyn Victor — Talentime
Yuhana Yahya — Histeria

Best Original Soundtrack:
Hidup — Antoo Fighter
Fantasi Sang Putera — Brainscan
Senario — Senario The Movie: Episod 1
Satu Ruang — Selamat Pagi Cinta
Sayangku Di Sisimu — Jin Hutan

Most Promising Director:
Effende Mazlan — Kami The Movie
Azizi Adnan — Antoo Fighter
Norliana Shamsudin — Selamat Pagi Cinta
James Lee — Histeria
Wan Azli Wan Jusoh — Budak Kelantan

Best Costume Design:
Shen Imagineering — Cicakman 2
Ridzwan Mat Hussein — Brainscan
Shada — Los dan Faun
Amandus Paul Pandin — Sifu dan Tongga
Rosada Abdul Hamid — Antoo Fighter

Here are the shortlisted films in the running for the Top 5 of the Best Film category.

Talentime — 11 nominations; Papadom (9), Setem (8), Maut (7), Cicakman 2 (7), Syurga Cinta (7), Bohsia: Jangan Pilih Jalan Hitam (6), Kami The Movie (5), Histeria (5), Antoo Fighter (4), Sifu dan Tongga (4), Brainscan (3), Jangan Tegur (2), Rasukan Ablasa (2), Momok The Movie (2), Jin Hutan (2), Senario The Movie: Episod 1 (2), Selamat Pagi Cinta (2), Jalang (1), Jomlah C.I.U.M (1) and Geng: Pengembaraan Bermula (1).