Written by Afifah Adi
Edited by Aleeya Balqis
A stilled clip of the film Abang Adik | Source: The Star
KUALA LUMPUR, 6th October 2024: Abang Adik has officially been selected to represent Malaysia in the International
Feature Film category at the 97th Academy Awards next March 2025. The whole nation is abuzz with excitement as the multiple award-winning film continues to gain vast recognition up onto the global stage.
The National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (FINAS) state
d that Jin Ong’s debut film went through several evaluation rounds by the FINAS Film Selection Committee before being submitted for the highly-anticipated award. The committee consists of professionals from the film industry, ensuring that Abang Adik complies with the requirements set by the Oscars.
Released in December 2023, the film has won 19 international awards, including multiple prizes for Best Feature Film at the 25th Far East Film Festival in Udine, Italy and at the New York Asian Film Festival.
On the local film scene, Abang Adik won the Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor titles at the Malaysia Golden Global Awards 2024. These titles were awarded to the main stars of the film, Taiwanese actor Wu Kang-ren and Malaysian actor Jack Tan, who played the role of Abang and Adik respectively.
The impressive achievements have further set Abang Adik as an inspiration for Malaysian filmmakers to produce more exceptional films, in which it tells the story of two undocumented brothers who struggle to obtain citizenship in Malaysia. The story is made even more heart-wrenching as the two are pushed to survive and grow up without their parents with the older brother being deaf and mute.
From left: Actor Jack Tan, Director Jin Ong and Actor Wu Kang-Ren | Source: Asia One
FINAS also noted that Abang Adik had garnered significant attention from the media and movie-goers, grossing RM14.6 million, RM1.55 million, and RM5.7 million in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Malaysia
respectively. These high earnings make it the first Malaysian film to achieve a box office record.—TBC
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