KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 21 — The 28th Malaysia Film Festival’s (FFM) preeminent prize is for the Best Malaysian Film, said Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak to explain why there was no issue for the national language award to be the event’s main honour.
When clearing up confusion over FFM28’s latest award categories, the communications and multimedia minister clarified that the winner of the Best National Film award, which is limited to films in Bahasa Malaysia, could not be the overall victor.
Instead, he explained that the particular distinction was reserved for the winner of the Best Malaysian Film award that was open to movies of all languages.
“It’s the main award but they are not the overall winner. The overall winner will include everybody; of course the overall winner will be the most prestigious award,” he told Malay Mail Online when contacted yesterday.
“If you win that, you are the best in Malaysia,” he later added.
He reinforced this by saying that nominees for Best National Film were a subset of the Best Malaysian Film category, and that the winner of the former may not necessarily win the latter.
He pointed out that the FFM28 organiser had not used the word “prestigious” for the Best National Film award, and stressed that there was no segregation according to language for the Best Malaysian Film award.
On Friday, National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (Finas) chairman Datuk Mohd Khusairi Abdul Talib said this year’s “main national award” of “Best National Film” will be for movies in Bahasa Malaysia only, with films of all languages will be placed under the “Best Malaysian Film” category.
The federal agency is the organiser of the film awards.
Salleh said the Finas announcement was “consistent” with his decision last Wednesday, when he announced that FFM’s main award of Best Picture — previously restricted to films with 70 per cent BM content — would be open to all films regardless of language. At the same time, he also created the Best Film in National Language award for films in BM.
“My decision is based on the principle that there is no segregation at all,” he said.
He said the only difference between his decision and Finas’s announcement was that the award for Malay language films will be considered FFM’s “main” award, which he said the local film industry pushed for in order to recognise Bahasa Malaysia’s position as the national language.
“Finas considers it as main award and there is nothing wrong. The Best Malaysian Film is a prestigious award and open to all.
“The only difference, they consider (Best) National (Film) as the main award because of the position of the national language and I have no objection. To me, the overall winner is the prestigious award,” he reiterated.
The Finas announcement was made after a Tuesday meeting between the minister and various groups from the local film industry, including the Film Directors’ Association of Malaysia (FDAM) that previously mounted a strong protest after the FFM’s main Best Picture award was opened up.
The FDAM had last week objected to the recognition of works not in Bahasa Malaysia for national-level awards, with its vice president Syed Zulkifli Syed Masir previously telling Malay Mail Online that the association wanted the newly-created Best Film in National Language to be elevated to be the main award and the most prestigious award of FFM.
Although initially disassociating itself from FFM over the perceived recognition of non-BM works for national level awards, Syed Zulkifli told Malay Mail Online on Tuesday that FDAM has reinstated its official support for FFM after hearing the minister’s explanation that the festival still upholds Bahasa Malaysia’s constitutional position as the national language.
The whole controversy had started when critically acclaimed films like Ola Bola and Jagat were initially disqualified from contesting the main Best Picture award, but were instead placed in the non-Bahasa Malaysia category for Best Picture that was introduced in 2011.
The creation this year of the non-Bahasa Malaysia categories for Best Screenplay and Best Director for the FFM28 also raised eyebrows and criticism, including from those within the film industry who pointed out that language is not the main criteria to determine excellence for these awards.
Under the latest award mechanism announced by Finas this Friday, all FFM28 awards will remain open to all films regardless of language, except for the special Best National Film for BM films only.
Salleh also stressed that there will be “no segregation at all” for all FFM28 awards save for the Best National Film, compared to the previous categories of BM and non-BM films.
