KUALA LUMPUR: The National Film Development Corporation's (Finas) decision to only reveal the top five nominees in every category of the 31st Malaysian Film Festival (FFM31) tomorrow is meant to give film fans an element of surprise.
Finas chief executive officer Prof Dr Md Nasir Ibrahim said that it had always been their strategy to keep the list of FFM31 nominees secret until the day of the event.
"The public will only get to know the nominees during FFM31, but Finas has already informed the artistes of their nominations beforehand," said Md Nasir in a news report today.
A total of 55 feature films, comprising 32 Malay films, 11 Tamil films, eight Mandarin films, two English films and two Iban films have been nominated for 28 award categories in FFM31, including Best Film.
These films include Pusaka, Ennaval, Geran, KL Vampires, Sangkar, Anak Perjanjian Syaitan, Upin & Ipin: Keris Siamang Tunggal, Miimaland, Rock 4: Rockers Never Dai, Ejen Ali The Movie, Ada Apa Dengan Dosa and Roh.
On preparations for the awards ceremony, Md Nasir said that everything was completed smoothly, and standard operating procedures (SOP) would be strictly observed.
"There will be 1,400 guests, who will be seated in specific parts of the Plenary Hall in accordance with social distancing," he said.
FFM31, with Citra Sinema as its theme, will be broadcast live on TV2 from the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre in Jalan Pinang at 8.30pm tomorrow.
The team behind the Best Film will receive RM500,000 from the Digital Content Fund (DKD) of Finas, as well as a trophy.