KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 7 — This year’s Profima International Film Festival and Awards (PIFFA) saw three Malaysian movies taking home big wins from its total of 19 nominations at the festival’s 1st PIFFA Supreme Awards.
Jess Teong’s directorial debut The Kid from the Big Apple was awarded Best Screenplay, beating foreign competitions such as Iran’s Daughter and The Tenor — a collaboration between South Korea, Japan and Serbia.
Despite being nominated in six categories, Redha, which stars Namron and Junainah, did not bring home any wins, but was instead honoured with a Special Jury Award through their fineness in exploring the subject of autism.
Also nominated in six categories was Saw Teong Hin’s You Mean the World to Me, which nabbed the Best Male Newcomer Award for John Tan, who also previously won Most Promising Actor at the 29th Malaysian Film Festival.
The festival, which gives acknowledgement to the professional crews in the Asian filmmaking industry, also named Malaysia’s highest-grossing Thai film Bad Genius as Best Film, with actress Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying going home as Best Actress.
PIFFA 2017 took place from November 4 to 6, with the PIFFA Supreme Awards held at the Malaysia International Trade & Exhibition Centre (MITEC) on November 5. — CinemaOnline
