KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 30 — The 29th Malaysia Film Festival (FFM 29) will see some drastic changes this year, as no nominees or Top 5 Lists will be announced beforehand, unlike what has been done in previous years.
The chairman of the National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (Finas) Datuk Mohd Khusairi Abdul Talib said that the decision was made so as to avoid any future controversy from happening, before the festival takes place.
“At this year’s FFM 29, we have decided not to announce the nominees competing in each category before the night of the festival.
“Other than wanting to avoid future controversy from happening, the decision is also made as an effort for more people in the industry to attend the ceremony and find out whether they have made it to the Top 5 at that same night,” he said during the press conference of FFM 29 at Finas Hulu Kelang yesterday.
He also added that the lack of attendance at last year’s FFM 28 has dimmed the prestigious event.
FFM 29 director Mohd Zulkifli Abdul Wahab also revealed that as of yesterday, they have only received 43 submissions from filmmakers to be judged for the festival.
The number is said to be half of their original target of 80 competing films.
Following the revelation, Finas has extended the submission date till September 3 to give opportunity to other directors to hand in their entries.
Director-General of Finas, Datuk Fauzi Ayob, has previously informed that FFM 29 will witness several changes such as the disbandment of the pre-award ceremony and the decrease in the competing film categories.
When asked regarding the list of categories that is up for competition this year, Mohd Zulkifli informed that there will be a press conference soon discussing the matter.
FFM 29 will be held at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) with the theme of “Transformasi Citra Karya”. — CinemaOnline
