Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal and his wife Datin Seri Shuryani Shuaib presenting a souvenir to Bollywood actress Mallika Sherawat yesterday.
KUALA LUMPUR: Brazil’s A Casa de Alice (Alice’s House) won the hearts of the judges and emerged the biggest winner when it was chosen as best film at the 2nd Kuala Lumpur International Film Festival 2008 (KLIFF 2008) last night.
Directed by Chico Teixeira, this feature film, which revolves around a woman named Alice who longs for liberation from the monotony of her life, beat 22 feature films in the final selection, winning a trophy, a certificate of appreciation and RM20,000.
Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal presented the award.
It also bagged two other awards: Best South American and Best Actress (Carla Ribas), which came with cash prizes of RM5,000 and RM3,000, respectively.
The Best Director trophy went to a group of directors who call themselves Yes! That’s Us for their film, Divizionz.
It tells of four friends who experience obstacles that test their friendship and mission.
This South Africa/Uganda film also bagged two awards for Best African Continent and Best Music Score.
Best Asian Continent went to Jordan’s feature film Captain Abu Raed.
The movie, which tells a story of friendship, inspiration and heroism in Jordan also saw its leading actor Nadim Sawalha bagging the Best Actor award, beating local actor Eman Manan of Wayang.
Meanwhile, French production Darling was presented with the Best European Continent and Best Editing awards.
Other winners included Canada’s Fugitive Pieces, which emerged winner for Best North American award, while the Best Cinematography award went to Taiwan’s feature film Hai Jiao Qi Hao (Cape No. 7).
Egypt’s Hassan we Morcos (Hassan and Morcos) bagged Best Screenplay while Best Sound went to Iran’s Hamoon Va Darya (Hamoon and Darya).
Malaysia’s lone win came from Hatta Azad Khan’s feature film, Wayang, which tells of a respectable and wily master puppeteer who faces hurdles in passing down the age-old tradition.
It received the Special Jury award, winning a trophy, a certificate and RM3,000.
With the theme “Celebrating Cultural Diversity”, KLIFF 2008 was organised by the Malaysian National Film Development Corporation (Finas) and Kuala Lumpur International Film Festival under the patronage of Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
The festival, which ended yesterday, was hosted by Sarimah Ibrahim.
It saw participation by filmmakers from around the globe, ranging from independent production houses to major US-based companies, competing for awards in 15 categories.
The star-studded event was held at Merdeka Hall, Putra World Trade Centre and was broadcast live on Astro Kirana.
Performances included Datuk Siti Nurhaliza, Ning Baizura and Dafi of Akademi Fantasia 6 fame.
Indonesian Melly Goeslaw performed a duet with Yusry KRU.
Present at the event were Finas director Mohd Mahyidin Mustakim, KLIFF chairman Datuk Abdul Rauf Yusoh and KLIFF director Wafa Abdul Kadir.
New Straits Times
Posted in 
