Fresh after the government’s decision yesterday to remove the Bahasa Malaysia requirement for FFM’s Best Film category, independent filmmaker Anwardi Jamil said the two other awards should similarly not be split into a main category and a non Bahasa-Malaysia category. "Yes, very much so, because screenplay is not (about) language, (it) is screen language where you actually put the story across for the director to make a movie. "Because for a movie without dialogue, there’s still a screenplay, it still describes what comes out in the movie,” the film activist told Malay Mail Online when contacted yesterday. "Director also shouldn’t be in two category. How do you direct differently for a Chinese movie and Malay movie? "Everybody says ‘action’, ‘cut’, you don’t say ‘aksi’, ‘potong’, so directing is neutral. There’s no special directing skills to direct any language. If you are a good director, you can direct movies in any language,” he added. Film director Al Jafree Md Yusop also backed the opening up of the Best Screenplay and Best Director categories, noting that the language used is not the "main criteria” to determine the quality of the screenplay or film directing. "If the screenplay was written in Mandarin and I couldn’t understand it, we could have it translated, the most important thing with screenplay is structure,” the founder of film lovers and film professionals’ collective Komuniti Filem Titiwangsa. Citing the nomination in the US Academy Awards of Iranian movie Separation’s fully-Persian screenplay for the Best Screenplay category, he said the non-Bahasa Malaysia category was redundant. "To me it’s totally redundant because ‘Separation’ proved that language is not important, it is part of the criteria but not main criteria,” he said. Screenwriter Nik Jassmin Hew said all films should contest in one category when it comes to the main awards such as Best Picture, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography. "At the end of the day, you want to celebrate everyone equally. "Right now the main thing is that all films are recognised as eligible for the awards equally. And no film is denied that it’s a Malaysian film,” she told Malay Mail Online when contacted yesterday. As for categories divided according to Malaysia’s different economic markets which she said was unfortunately still broken down according to languages, these categories are "extras” if they are ever created. "And main purpose of that is to know what’s and who’s best in each segment and to bridge the market gaps realistically in the future because there may not be another Ola Bola or Jagat for a while. At least that way other non-Malay films get a chance to be known and celebrated too. "My suggestion for categorising into markets is possibly unachievable this year. It’s something to consider if we want to work towards one market. It takes time and proper planning and the right nominations. This year we are blessed with two films that broke the market barriers but there are no guarantee if we will have that again,” she said. This year, FFM organisers created two new non-Bahasa Malaysia categories for Best Director and Best Screenplay, adding on to the non-Bahasa Malaysia category for Best Picture that was introduced in 2011. The nominations of two critically acclaimed movies — Chiu Keng Guan’s Ola Bola and Shanjhey Kumar Perumal’s Jagat — for Best Picture (non-Bahasa Malaysia) at the 28th FFM this year, instead of the main Best Picture category, had sparked outrage both among the public and within the film industry. On Monday night, Malaysia Film Producers Association (PFM) president Datuk Yusof Haslam and PFM CEO Pansha Nalliah had explained FFM’s roots as a festival decades ago featuring only Bahasa Malaysia films, noting that the non-Bahasa Malaysia category for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay were introduced to give recognition to the Chinese and Tamil films that emerged in recent years. In a news report by Bernama yesterday, Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak said that the Best Picture award — previously restricted only to films in Bahasa Malaysia — would be opened up, while a new category for Best Film in the National Language would be created. When asked regarding the status of the two other non-Bahasa Malaysia categories, Salleh Said told Malay Mail Online yesterday that Finas will be issuing a detailed statement on FFM. Malay Mail Online is still awaiting a response from Finas director-general Datuk Kamil Othman, while Finas yesterday said on its official Facebook page that it that it took note of the minister’s decision regarding the FFM award categories and will prepare a press statement on the matter. The 28th FFM will be held on September 1 to 3.