Malaysian social drama “Abang Adik” was named best film and winner of the Golden Mulberry award on Sunday at the Far East Film Festival in Udine, Italy.
The film is the story of two undocumented and orphaned men, who may or may not be real brothers, but who lift each other up. The film’s director, Jin Ong, won the White Mulberry Award for Best First Feature and “Abang Adik” added a third award from festival season pass holders.
Second place on the podium went to South Korea with “Rebound” by Chang Hang-jun, while third place went to “Yudo” by Japan’s Suzuki Masayuki.
Other awards include a Mulberry for Best Screenplay which went to Taiwanese director Fu Tien-Yu’s “Day Off” and the MYmovies Readers’ Choice Award which went to Mongolian comedy “The Sales Girl” by Janchivdorj Sengedorj.
The previously announced Golden Mulberry Lifetime Achievement Award went to Japanese actress Baisho Chieko.
Festival organizers report that the 25th edition of FEFF brought together more than 60,000 spectators and 1,600 accredited guests, to watch 78 titles from 14 countries – including nine world premieres.
“These are very positive results. It seems essential to us to invite the institutions (regional financial and Italian cultural institutions) to reflect”, declared the co-directors of the FEFF, Sabrina Baracetti and Thomas Bertacche.
“We believe that given the long road it has taken to get to where it is today, the festival deserves to continue to see its growth potential bear fruit. Are public bodies ready to support the FEFF with more funding, transforming it into a real hub linking East and West? Will the future of the FEFF remain that of a major international film festival? Can his twenty-plus-year network of relationships be developed into something larger? »
Origin of message: variety