It's That Time Of The Year Again

Yes, indeed. It's that time when dumb decisions are made, and even dumber results come about. It's the Festival Filem Malaysia.

First of all, check out the official webpage here and weep. No, seriously, the horrendous English will make you weep. Secondly, Congkak, the side-splitting "horror" movie, garnered four nominations, including Best Director and Best Sound. Now how in the world did that happen in an industry of sane people? For one, Congkak is a terrible movie, and I rolled all around the cinema floor laughing my ass off throughout the movie. No, really I did.

Secondly, I came out of the movie with an earache. What sound design? What sound effects? They were just a bunch of very, very loud "explosions" designed to jolt the audience because the movie has no real scares.

The nominees for Best Film are going to be announced on the night of the awards ceremony. I wonder, I just wonder, if Congkak will be one of them.

And then there's the case where the FFM snubs important filmmakers. Last year, Mukhsin, one of the best local films, was snubbed in both the Best Film and Best Director categories. Head juror Yusof Haslam thought there was nothing particularly new or groundbreaking about the film, just more of the same ol', same ol' from Yasmin Ahmad. So I guess, in a sulky move, Muallaf isn't submitted to this year's FFM. Just a bit of advice though: really, if the FFM doesn't care about you or your films, then your submission or non-submission will not move them to tears. In fact, I think there would be some rejoicing for the lack of real competition. More prizes to go around, if you know what I mean.

So, it's that time of the year again. It's the season when we celebrate mediocrity. It's the moment of sucky films and sulky filmmakers.

By the way, Amir Muhammad is on this year's jury, although I don't exactly know what the implications of that are.


Nah, I won't even bother linking to the full list of nominees.