I love Sharifah Amani
You are not only comel when I see you in person but your recent speech is so good.
You think you speak funny in BM and you think we should taint our culture even more with interesting film. I say, lets do it. Sharifah, you became my hero overnight.
I love you, Sharifah Amani.
ps. Here is the Scoop about your speech:
The slight ripple of discontent over actress Sharifah Amani’s
acceptance speech does not overshadow the reality that the 19th
Malaysian Film Festival is a celebration of change and a more honest
and inventive approach to filmmaking. SHARIFAH ARFAH writes.
THE 19th Malaysian Film Festival (FFM19) awards night last Sunday had
some surprises, not least the reactions to Best Actress Sharifah
Amani’s passionate and heartfelt acceptance speech.
After thanking her “hero”, actress mum Fatimah Abu Bakar; professional
photographer dad Syed Zainal Rashid and director Yasmin Ahmad (“for
seeing something inside me when nobody else did”), the 20-year-old
ended her speech with “if films taint our culture, then let’s do it
more often…”, which predictably raised some heckles.
There was also the bit about her sounding stupid when she speaks in Malay that raised some eyebrows.
A stunned Amani later said she was surprised that a lot of people took offence to her speech.
“When I said I sound stupid speaking in Malay, some people actually
thought I can’t speak Malay. That’s not true. I was excited with the
win … so I chose to speak in English because I express myself better
in English.
“I speak very colloquial Malay; I didn’t think it was appropriate for
an event like that. This is my first Best Actress award and I’m proud
of this, and for this, I want to thank the jury. Someday, I want to be
the best in whatever I do and I want to make Malaysia proud for it.”
“Also, when I said ‘Kalau filem cemarkan budaya (if films can taint
culture), let’s do it more often’, I was criticising mindsets.”
It’s a shame that certain quarters chose to pick on this rather than
focus on the fact that Amani is the youngest to be named Best Actress
(for Gubra) at the MFF and the first to receive the award a year after
winning the Most Promising Actress award (for Sepet) last year.
Nusanbakti Corporation (which produced Gubra) executive producer Wan
Shahidi Wan Abdullah said: “What Amani said was clearly misinterpreted;
she didn’t mean to offend anyone. What she said about filem cemarkan
budaya shouldn’t be taken literally.
“Amani explained to me that it was actually an indirect compliment to
the Culture, Arts and Heritage Ministry. It is because of the Ministry,
which has relaxed its regulations of local productions, that we can
have more honest films like Gubra and Remp-It.
“Years ago, we couldn’t even make horror films but look at us now.
Pontianak Harum Sundal Malam 2 was also passed with no cuts. All this
can only be healthy for the film industry which has so long suffered
from narrow-mindedness.
“Kudos to the administration now for allowing such films to be
screened. Only a small section of the society will find Gubra and Sepet
as tainting the Malay culture. That was what Amani was hitting out at,
the mindsets of this small group of people.
| The winners
ANUGERAH PERDANA
ANUGERAH CIPTA
SPECIAL JURY AWARDS:
VIEWERS’ CHOICE AWARDS: |
“She was actually thankful to Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim for seeing the
movies for what they really are. If these movies really tainted our
culture, they wouldn’t have been released uncut.
“Having said that, if anyone felt slighted with the remark, we
apologise for that. That was certainly not her intention. We hope this
will not have any repercussions on the organising committee and jury
members who did a good job.”
Whatever the sceptics think, Yasmin triumphed again this year as Gubra
won the most coveted award of the evening – Best Film. Her first
feature, Sepet, was also named Best Film at the 18th MFF last year.
However the Best Director award eluded Yasmin yet again; it went to Pontianak Harum Sundal Malam 2 director Shuhaimi Baba.
Apart from the Best Film and Best Actress awards, Gubra also won for
Best Screenplay and Best Poster. Despite the so-called controversies
elicited by her movies, Yasmin said it will only spur her to work
harder.
“Contrary to what some people think, I don’t make films to create
controversy. I just want to entertain my parents, and I’m thankful for
the big win,” said Yasmin, who is currently busy with her next feature
film, Mokhsin.
The other surprise is the remarkable showing of The 3rd Generation,
seeing that MFF19 was the first festival that saw the entry of
vernacular films.
Directed by Hor Chee Leong, the period drama captures the essence of
the culture, diversity and social complexity of the Chinese in relation
to family, love, relationships and business.
The Chinese language film won for Best Cinematography, Best Costume and
Most Promising Actress (Carmen Soo), proving that a film doesn’t
necessarily have to be in Malay or about the Malay culture to make an
impact in the local film industry.
Pontianak Harum Sundal Malam 2, the film with the most nominations (14
out of 18 categories), won two other awards – Best Original Theme Song
(Ku Seru, sung by Misha Omar) and Best Art Direction – besides the Best
Director trophy.
Afdlin Shauki, who had the highest number of nominations as an
individual, bagged two awards for Best Actor (Buli Balik) and Best
Original Story (Baik Punya Cilok).
Fans who love his work will be happy to know that Afdlin’s quirky and
creative ideas don’t end there, for he is working on his next film,
Sumo-lah.
MFF19 culminated in the fittingly well-organised and glamorous awards
night, proving that the assistance of the Ministry and the support of
major sponsor Astro can greatly enhance the annual event.
MFF19 was organised by the Film Producers Association of Malaysian with
the co-operation of the Federation of Screen Guilds Malaysia.
Seminars on the making of a documentary and pitching techniques,
jointly organised by the National Film Development Corporation and
Scriptwriters’ Association of Malaysia, benefited both aspiring
filmmakers as well as the old hands on the finer art of the trade.
The decision by the MFF organisers to announce the finalists for the
respective awards for the first time is a much-welcomed change, as
previously people were kept guessing as to who made it to the top five.
This year’s awards night was enlivened by song and dance sequences from the films in the running.
The night’s performers included Ning Baizura, Cat Farish, Ella, Mawi
and Misha Omar. Hosts Linda Onn and AC Mizal also kept the audience
entertained throughout the evening.
