KUALA LUMPUR: Redha, a touching film about an autistic boy and his father who struggles to come to terms with his son's condition, has made the longlist of films to compete for the Best Foreign Language Film title at the 89th Academy Awards on Feb 26 next year.
A statement from the National Film Development Corporation (Finas) today said that Redha, directed by Tunku Mona Riza and produced by Current Pictures Sdn Bhd, has been officially selected for Oscars nomination consideration by its International Film Festival Committee.
Local movies which had previously made the Oscars longlist include Puteri Gunung Ledang (2005), Bunohan (2013) and Lelaki Harapan Dunia (2015).
Redha stars Nam Ron, June Lojong, Nadiya Nisaa, Remy Ishak, Ruminah Sidek, Susan Lankester and child actors Harith Haziq and Izzy Reef.
The film won Best Actress (June) and the Special Jury Award at the World Premiere Film Festival 2016 in Manila; the Merit Award at the Los Angeles Awareness Film Festival 2016; the Special Prize for Humanism in Cinematography nominated by the President of Tatarstan; the Special Prize of the Russian Guild of Cinema Critics; and Best Actor in a Full Length Feature Film (Nam Ron, Harith and Izzy) at the 12th Kazan International Muslim Film Festival 2016.
Redha will also represent Malaysia in the Fourth Casa Asia Film Week in Barcelona, Spain and the 10th Asia Pacific Screen Awards in Brisbane, Australia next month.