PUTRAJAYA, Jan 15 — Efforts to strengthen the local creative industry should be continued to drive the country towards greater success at the international level, said Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo.
He said in a statement today that he was proud of the recent achievements of several Malaysian arts practitioners on the global stage, including the nomination of two Malaysian film producers as finalists at the 92nd Academy Awards (Oscars).
“All these achievements are a recognition for the country’s creative industry, which always produces quality works apart from promoting the potential and talent of Malaysian artistes at the global level,” he said.
Gobind said United States-based Malaysian film producers Teng Poh Si and Cheyenne Tan had produced a documentary entitled St. Louis Superman, which has been nominated for Best Documentary Short Subject at the Oscars scheduled for Feb 9.
The 25-minute documentary, directed by Smriti Mundhra and Sami Khan, tells of the life journey of Franks Jr, an American activist and rap singer who contested for a seat in the Missouri House of Representatives in 2016 and won.
Gobind also congratulated Les’ Copaque Production for producing the film Upin & Ipin: Keris Siamang Tunggal, which became the first Malaysian animated film to be shortlisted together with 31 other animated films for preliminary nominations for the Best Animated Feature Film at the Oscars.
“Although it failed to enter the stage of best five, the success of the animated film in penetrating this international platform is something to be proud of,” he said.
Apart from this, Gobind said documentary film M For Malaysia, directed by Dian Lee and Ineza Roussille, had been officially selected to represent Malaysia in the International Feature Film category.
“Although not named among the finalists, the film, which depicts the struggle of Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad together with Pakatan Harapan when winning the 14th general election, has been well received when screened in Malaysia and has penetrated several international film festivals,” he added.
Gobind said another local film, Guang, directed by Quek Shio Chuan, had won the Best Feature Film and Best Screenplay awards at the 59th Asia Pacific Film Festival in Macau.
He said the success of the film, whose theme was based on the issue of autism, was the first recorded by Malaysia since the inception of the festival in Tokyo in 1954.
— Bernama
