Hantu Gangster front-runner for 25th Festival Filem Malaysia awards

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LIGHT MOMENT: Vanidah Imran, who was in Kuching for the FFM promotion, reacts to a joke during the press conference.

LIGHT MOMENT: Vanidah Imran, who was in Kuching for the FFM promotion, reacts to a joke during the press conference.

KUCHING: The movie Hantu Gangster, directed by controversial figure Namewee, is in the running to win awards in the 25th Festival Filem Malaysia (FFM) which is the country’s equivalent to Hollywood Oscars.

It is nominated for four categories, namely best costume design/ wardrobe, best child actor, best soundtrack and best original screenplay.

Namewee also acted in the horror comedy movie with stars Farid Kamil, Diana Danielle, Datuk Jallaludin Hassan, supermodel Amber Chia and Tee Jing Chen who is nominated for the best child actor award.

Namewee was involved with the movie’s original screenplay and the soundtrack We Are Gangster.

However, he missed out in the nomination for the Best Director Award.

The list of nominees were distributed to the media at a press conference chaired by Filem Negara Malaysia (Finas) director general Raja Rozaime Raja Dalnish during a promotional tour for the 25th FFM in Kuching last Saturday.

Raja Rozaime said the 25th FFM, opened only for films produced in 2012, received 139 entries including 59 feature films, 68 short films and 14 animated films.

The film Songlap has the nominations as it is nominated in 14 categories, followed by 29 Februari with 12 nominations and Bunohan with 10 nominations.

These three films are also in the running for the Best Film Award along with Sam and 29 Februari.

Animated film Seefood is in the running for the Best Non-Malay Film along with other nominees Kepong Gangster, Ah Beng The Movie, Petaling Street Warriors and Ghost Buddies.

“It will be FFM’s silver jubilee celebration this year. The FFM is a prestigious event organised by Finas annually to recognise and encourage local film enthusiasts to produce quality artistic work.

It is also to provide opportunities to new talents to showcase their ability,” he said.

The 25th FFM launching will be held on Feb 27 at e@Curve in Damansara and officiated by Deputy Minister of Information, Communications and Culture, Datuk Joseph Salang.

The award proper will be on March 2 from 9pm onwards at the Plenary Hall, Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC) with the Minister of Information, Communications and Culture, Datuk Seri Utama Rais Yatim as the guest of honour.

It will be telecast live on RTM via TV2 and Astro on channels Astro Ria and Mustika HD.