14 Aug - Yasmin Ahmad proves it again to all after "Gubra" won Best Film in the 19th Malaysian Film Festival (FFM19) that was held at Dewan Merdeka, Pusat Dagangan Dunia Putra last night. She won Best Film for "Sepet" at 18th Malaysian Film Festival last year. Yasmin was at Starlight Cinema's Short Film Festival as a jury when "Gubra" won Best Poster, Best Actress & Best Screenplay, was represented by her sister, Orked to receive the award. Yasmin said; "Winning it twice in a row, that's unbelievable! This will not be possible without the hard work of all the cast & crew". The one and only Chinese film in the festival, "The Third Generation" won three awards, which comprised of Best Costume, Best Newcomer Actress (Carmen Soo) & Best Cinematography. "Pontianak Harum Sundal Malam II" won two awards for Best Art Direction & Best Director (Shuhaimi Baba). Other notable winners include: Best Film: "Gubra" Best Actor: Afdlin Shauki ("Buli Balik") Best Actress: Sharifah Amani ("Gubra") Best Supporting Actress: Sazzy Falak ("Gol and Gincu") Best Supporting Actor: Hans Isaac ("Buli Balik") Best Newcomer Actor : Que Haidar ("Castello") Best Documentary: "Profil Seni Pak Dolah Baju Merah" Best Animation: "Long Lost Love" Best Short Film: "Marginal"
For the first time, categories by public choice through SMS voting won by "Gol and Gincu" for Most Popular Film, Popular Actor (Adam AF2), Popular Actress (Eja) & Popular Theme Song (Hanya Untukmu by Mawi). It was an evening full of surprises at the 19th Malaysian Film Festival awards when Best Actress Sharifah Amani gave her heartfelt acceptance speech. After thanking her actress mother, Fatimah Abu Bakar and professional photographer father, Syed Zainal, the 20-year-old ended her speech with "if films taint our culture, then let's do it more often...", which caused a stir among the audience. A stunned Amani later said she was surprised that a lot of people took offense 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." Also, when Amani said, "Kalau filem cemarkan budaya (if films can taint culture), let's do it more often", she was actually criticizing mindsets and to some media that harshly condemned "Sepet" & "Gubra".