Local actor Pekin Ibrahim had won his first FFM award via his film, "Mat Moto: Kami Bukan Mat Rempit". The actor was named Best Actor at the Malaysia Film Festival (FFM 28) last Saturday, beating other nominees like Shaheizy Sam, Zizan Razak, Aaron Aziz and Aniu. Pekin dedicated his award to his dear friend Azwan Annuar, the original script writer of "Mat Moto: Kami Bukan Mat Rempit, who passed away last year. The win had brought tears to the actor's eyes, who initially refused to make the film, but via the encouragement of his late friend, Pekin's film managed to take home three awards at FFM 28, including Best Original Story, Best New Actress for Falisha Crossley, and Best Actor via Pekin himself. The actor goes down memory lane and told Cinema Online how and why he decided to make the film. Cinema Online: Is this considered as your biggest win so far? Pekin Ibrahim: For this year, yes. I'm not sure about next year though, because I have another two movies. "Mat Moto" means a lot to me because it's close to my heart and it's my first directorial project. Also, I never expected that my character can win even though it was hard to play, but it's not so heavy. In terms of emotion, I think there are other heavier characters out there. This is my first FFM win since being in the industry for more than 20 years. It is also my second nomination; my first was in 2012 for FFM 25 for the film, "Bunohan".
Who was your toughest opponent for the Best Actor win? All of my opponents are tough. I don't know how the jury picked their winners, but I think the acting performances of all the nominees are great – even I am a fan of them! Each cast has the acting talent, and they are all waiting for the opportunity to play a great role. Like for me in "Mat Moto", since I'm the one who wrote and directed the film, the character that I played is also something that I like and am very comfortable with. But if you were to pick, who do you think would win if it weren't you? I would say either Zizan or Sam. But maybe it's Sam! Anyway, it doesn't matter who wins because we're all friends, and we should support each other. A lot of people couldn't believe that you won because you're considered as an underdog in this industry, what is your comment to that? It's always like that, and I'm already used to it. But I'm happy that this film has brought a huge impact because right now, everywhere that I go, people would call me mat moto, and the word "rempit" has completely vanished. That is what I strive to do, because I got sick of people relating motorcycles with mat rempit , but the thing is, I made this film because I like motorcycles, because it is a subculture, much like rock music. So that's the perception that I'm trying to change. Even the motorcyclists out there are referring to themselves as mat moto. So that's what I'm trying to deliver to society.
So was it worth it to listen to the late Azwan Annuar to make this film? Okay, now I feel sad. I think the late Azwan Annuar has "mulut masin" (someone who makes a statement which turns out to be true or real afterwards). He's the one who asked me to make this film. He's the one who started writing the script first but before he could even give it to me, he passed away. If he can be here today, I bet he's going to be happy. I didn't want to do this film at first, but he's the one who encouraged me to do it as he was confident that this film will do well. Why didn't you want to do this movie? I don't have the confidence at first, and I'm new so it's hard for me to find sponsors for funding. But he's the one who's been pushing and encouraging me. The script was written by Azwan at first, because I usually let him handle all the writing, but before he could even pass me the real "Mat Moto" script, he was gone, so I was forced to start writing one on my own. But after I started writing, I began to develop an interest, so I think I'm going to start writing more for my next films.