KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 13 ― The brouhaha over the Malaysia Film Festival (FFM) is not about Bahasa Malaysia, National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (Finas) director-general Datuk Kamil Othman said.
“Its about arrogance vs reason, old world vs new, and Good films vs the not so good,” Kamil tweeted from his @Othman_Kamil Twitter account yesterday.
He also tweeted last Saturday about how the national film awards ceremony was “heating up”, saying: “If only everyone knows how difficult any transformation process can become. We're changing decades old mindsets”.
After public outrage over the segregation of three categories at the 28th FFM this year based on language, the Communications and Multimedia Ministry announced Wednesday that the Best Picture award — previously restricted to films with 70 per cent Bahasa Malaysia content — would be opened up to all films. It also created the Best Picture in National Language category.
Finas, as the FFM organiser, said Thursday that it was abolishing all three non-Bahasa Malaysia categories at the 28th FFM, with films previously in these categories now automatically placed in the main award categories of Best Picture, Best Screenplay and Best Director.
Some, however, were unhappy over the government’s and Finas’ decisions on resolving the FFM controversy that was triggered when critically acclaimed films Ola Bola and Jagat were initially disqualified from contesting the main Best Picture award and nominated in the non-Bahasa Malaysia category instead.
The Film Directors’ Association of Malaysia (FDAM) told Malay Mail Online that the new Best Picture in National Language award should be elevated above Best Picture and be considered the “main” honour.
