At the closing ceremony of the 9th Malaysia International Film Festival (MIFFest) on Saturday, Lloyd Lee Choi’s Lucky Lu won the Best Film award at the Malaysian Golden Global Awards.
A U.S.-Canadian co-production took home the award’s top honor, and jurors recognized filmmakers from Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the Americas at the ceremony, highlighting MIFFest’s increasingly international competition.
Egyptian director Morad Mostafa won the award for best director for his film “Aisha Can’t Fly Away,” a multinational co-production between Egypt, France, Germany, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Sudan.
The Chilean-Argentine-Italian drama “Red Hangar” emerged as one of the night’s biggest winners, taking home the screenplay award for Luis Emilio Guzman and the cinematography award for Diego Peguero. Director Peguero, who won Best Cinematography, said, “This film begins with a group of friends, and I’m so proud to have been able to turn our passion into such a wonderful film.”
Sri Lankan drama Riverstone also won two acting awards, with Mahendra Perera winning Best Actor and Priyantha Sirikumara Best Supporting Actor.
Taiwan took home one of the acting honors of the night, with Audrey Lin winning Best Supporting Actress for “Girl.”
The Best Actress award went to Ong Shuanjing for the Singaporean film “Ah Girl” and Lila Gounod for “Silent Rebellion.” “Ah Girl” also won the New Hope Award, which honored director Ang Gek Priscilla.
The Audience Choice Award went to Sirât, a Spanish-French co-production directed by Oliver Lacks.
The ceremony also presented the Outstanding Achievement Award to Chinese actor, director and producer Wu Jing. Mr. Wu attended the festival for a special screening of Yuen Woo-ping’s “Blades of the Guardians: Desert Wind Rises.” Upon receiving this honor, Mr. Wu expressed his gratitude to his collaborators and family, and expressed his utmost gratitude to his wife for her unwavering support throughout his career.
Korean author Lee Chang-dong received the Lifetime Achievement Award. Director Lee said on stage, “I want to take this award not as an award, but as an encouragement to continue making films.”
This year’s awards reflect MIFFest’s international reach, with honorees representing North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Southeast Asian cinema also maintained a strong presence through honors to filmmakers from Singapore, Sri Lanka and Taiwan.
Complete list of winners
Best Picture: “Lucky Lu” (directed by Lloyd Lee Che)
Best Director: Morad Mostafa “Aisha Can’t Fly”
Best Actress: Ong Xuanjing, “Ah Girl” (tie) Lila Gounod, “Silent Rebellion” (tie)
Best Actor: Mahendra Perera, “Riverstone”
Best Supporting Actress: Audrey Lynn, “Girl”
Best Supporting Actor: Priyanta Sirikumara, “Riverstone”
Best Original Screenplay: Luis Emilio Guzman, “The Red Hangar”
Best Cinematography: Diego Peguero “The Red Hangar”
New Hope Award: “Ah Girl” (directed by Ang Geck Geck Priscilla)
Audience Choice Award: “Sirât” (directed by Oliver Lucks)
Excellence Award: Wu Jing
Lifetime Achievement Award: Lee Chang-dong
