KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 26 — The second Malaysia International Film Festival (MIFFest) has officially kicked off in Kuala Lumpur, having held its opening ceremony at TGV Sunway Velocity Mall yesterday evening.
“The second Malaysia International Film Festival has officially started and I’m extremely excited because for the next five days we’ll be able to watch extraordinary movies from all over the world here in Malaysia,” said MIFFest Ambassador, Malaysian singer-actress Lee Sinje.
The film festival is taking place until this March 2, showcasing a total of 24 titles throughout the week.
Among the selected titles is Taiwanese filmmaker Sylvia Chang’s 2017 film, Love Education, which also serves as the opening film for this year’s MIFFest.
“The movie premiering tonight is a new masterpiece directed, written and acted by my mentor Sylvia Chang,” said Lee Sinje, also known as Angelica Lee, who was discovered by Chang at a film audition in Kuala Lumpur back in 1995.
While Chang was unable to attend the event yesterday, other guests who were present at the opening ceremony include Shuttle Life star Jack Tan (also serving as the festival’s Let’s Watch Movie Icon), Think Big Big cast Ruby Yap and Fabian Loo, actresses Jojo Goh and Serene Lim, and child actress Debbie Loo, who starred with Aaron Kwok in Peace Breaker.
“This is a golden opportunity to Malaysians as it provides a better platform to showcase emerging talents in the film industry,” said Chairman of MIFFest & MGGA Joanne Goh in her speech, “as well as give the audience an insight into the creative behind the film productions and to inspire the next generations of filmmakers.”
Started in 2017, MIFFest is held together with the Malaysia Golden Global Awards (MGGA), which takes place on the day after the film festival’s closing ceremony. This year, the 2nd MGGA will be held on March 3 at the Plenary Hall at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.
The closing ceremony for MIFFest will be held on March 2 at TGV Suria KLCC, where Mostafa Taghizadeh, the director of the closing film Yellow, will be present for a Q&A session after the film’s screening. — CinemaOnline
