Malaysian filmmaker Woo Ming Jin’s horror film Indera will open the seventh edition of the Malaysia International Film Festival (MIFFest), which is scheduled to take place July 21-28 in Kuala Lumpur.
Set against the backdrop of the violent Memali Incident in 1985, Indera follows a widowed man and his young daughter who experience mysterious visions in a remote village. The film, which stars Shaheizy Sam and Azira Shafinaz, is receiving its world premiere at Korea’s BIFAN film festival (July 4-14) in the Mad MaxX section.
Two Hong Kong films have been selected to close MIFFest – Ho Miu Ki’s Love Lies and Peg O’ My Heart, directed by Nick Cheung, who is also receiving the Award for Excellence in Film from the festival. Lifetime Achievement Awards will be presented to Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda and Indonesian actress Christine Hakim.
MIFFest also announced the nine films selected for its competition section, which will hand out awards for best film and in seven other categories. Four films have racked up seven nominations apiece: Abang Adik, Every You Every Me, In The Land Of Brothers and Betania (see details below).
Indian director and actress Suhasini Maniratnam is heading the competition jury, which also includes Hong Kong writer-director Felix Chong, Chinese professor and critic Zhang Xianmin, Thai critic and filmmaker Kong Rithdee and Malaysian actor Zul Ariffin.
Other highlights of the MIFFest programme include A-Lister, which will screen films including Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Evil Does Not Exist and Wim Wenders’ Perfect Days; Neon, with titles including Norris Wong’s The Lyricist Wannabe, Nelson Yeo’s Dreaming & Dying and Chidambaram’s Manjummel Boys; and Afterdark, which will screen Cambodian-Japan psychological thriller Tenement and Jane Schoenbrun’s I Saw The TV Glow, among other titles.
MIFFEST 2024 COMPETITION LINE-UP:
Abang Adik, dir: Jin Ong (Malaysia, Taiwan)
Betania, dir: Marcelo Botta (Brazil) AP
Every You Every Me, dir: Michael Fetter Nathansky (Germany, Spain)
In The Land Of Brothers, dirs: Alireza Ghasemi, Raha Amirfazli (France, Iran, Netherlands)
Rapture, dir: Dominic Sangma (India, China, Switerland, Qatar, Netherlands)
Sujo, dirs: Astrid Rondero, Fernanda Valadez (Mexico, US, France)
The Editorial Office, dir: Roman Bondarchuk (Ukraine, Germany, Slovakia, Czech Republic) AP
The Great Phuket, dir: Liu Yaonan (Hong Kong, France, Germany, Belgium)
Within A Budding Grove, dir: Hoby Zhang (Hong Kong) WP
Best Director:
Jin Ong, Abang Adik
Michael Fetter Nathansky, Every You Every Me
Alireza Ghasemi, Raha Amirfazli, In The Land Of Brothers
Astrid Rondero, Fernanda Valadez, Sujo
Roman Bondarchuk, The Editorial Office
Best Cinematography:
Bruno Graziano, Betania
Jan Mayntz, Every You Every Me
Farshad Mohammadi, In The Land Of Brothers
Tojo Xavier, Rapture
Ximena Amann, Sujo
Best Screenplay:
Jin Ong, Abang Adik
Marcelo Botta, Betania
Michael Fetter Nathansky, Every You Every Me
Astrid Rondero, Fernanda Valadez, Sujo
Alla Tyutyunnyk, Roman Bondarchuk, Dar’ya Averchenko, The Editorial Office
Best Actor:
KangRen Wu, Abang Adik
Mohammad Hosseini, In The Land Of Brothers
Bashir Nikzad, In The Land Of Brothers
Juan Jesús Varela, Sujo
Dmytro Bahnenko, The Editorial Office
Best Actress:
Diana Mattos, Betania
Aenne Schwarz, Every You Every Me
Hamideh Jafari, In The Land Of Brothers
Yadira Pérez, Sujo
Yang Xin, Within A Budding Grove
Best Supporting Actor:
Jack Tan, Abang Adik
Tan Kim Wang, Abang Adik
Tião Carvalho, Betania
Youness Aabbaz, Every You Every Me
Hajeer Moradi, In The Land Of Brothers
Best Supporting Actress:
Serene Lim, Abang Adik
Michelle Cabral, Betania
Rosa Ewerton Jara, Betania
Sara Fazilat, Every You Every Me
You Junfen, The Great Phuket