The 5th Malaysia International Film Festival (MIFFest) and Malaysia Golden Global Awards (MGGA) officially returns physically yesterday with a 5-day film festival at the Dadi Cinema and the awards ceremony on the 16th at Istana Budaya, Kuala Lumpur. The opening ceremony of the festival was held at the main entrance of Pavilion KL, and in addition to the presence of filmmakers and invited guests.
‘Edge of The World' as the Opening Film
The opening film was “Edge of the World”, a film directed by Hollywood director Michael Haussman, set in Sarawak, Malaysia and supported by the Sarawak Tourism Board, the film is about the 19th century British explorer James Brooke, who led the indigenous people of Malaysia out of British colonial rule and into civilization. The film's director and producer, Josie Ho, also made a surprise appearance at the event to support the opening of the film. This is also the official premiere screened in Malaysian cinema. Director Michael Haussman and producer Josie Ho mentioned that they were very happy to bring the film to Malaysia and present it with a strong cast of local actors, including Malay film actor and festival ambassador Bront Palarae, Shaheizy Sam and other leading actors at the event.
A Gathering of the Filmmakers
The star-studded opening ceremony was attended by a number of foreign filmmakers, including Christine Hakim, Jury President of the Golden Global Awards, Taiwanese actorWu Ke-Xi, Edge of the World director Michael Haussman, producer and actress Josie Ho, producer Rob Allyn and Conroy Chan. Local filmmakers include festival ambassador Bront Palarae, short film competition judges Jasmine Suraya and Reuben Kang, Juries of Malaysia Golden Global Award Chong Keat Aun and Ho Wi Ding, directors Namron, Megat Shahrizal, Susan Lankester, Liew Seng Tat, Woo Ming Jin Helmi Yusof, Siti Khadijah, actors Joey Leong, Debbie Goh, Angela Chan, Daniella Sya, Daphne Low, etc.
“Thank you for your attendance. We are truly excited. After going through the difficult times of the pandemic, we cherish the reunion of everyone here today.” Joanne Goh, the Chairperson of Malaysia International Film Festival, and Bront Palarae, the festival ambassador are delighted to share their expectations for this year's film festival at the opening ceremony.
‘Born of the Galaxy Stars' Short Film Competition announced the Best Short Film Winner
The Malaysia International Film Festival announced the winners of the ‘Born of the Galaxy Stars' short film competition at the opening ceremony. The short film competition, co-organized by Samsung Electronic Malaysia and the Malaysia International Film Festival, was based on the story submissions in April and the 22 selected entrants were given a Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra to shoot their stories into the complete short films. The jury selected the top three short films out of the 22 submissions. The top three submissions were ‘BE ME' directed by WenX, ‘So, What is the Definition of Love?' directed by Chu Ka Yoong and the Best Film Winner ‘Where Time Stood Still' directed by Mary Grace Liew.
The 5th Malaysia International Film Festival will be taking place at Dadi Cinema, Pavilion KL from the 10 to 15 July, the films' screening tickets are now available to purchase on Dadi Cinema's website at dadi.my. The 5th Malaysia Golden Global Awards will be held on the 16 July at the Istana Budaya, Kuala Lumpur (live broadcast on Unifi TV and festival Facebook Page for Malaysia and delay broadcast on VIU TV for Hong Kong).
