KUALA LUMPUR: The sci-fi romance film Imaginur triumphed at the 33rd Malaysia Film Festival (FFM 33), winning the prestigious Best Film award.
The event, held at Auditorium Seri Angkasa in Angkasapuri Kota Media, here yesterday, also saw the film's production company, Lumatic Films Sdn Bhd, receiving a Creative Content Fund worth RM500,000 and a trophy.
Directed by Nik Amir Mustapha, Imaginur claimed six additional awards, making it one of the night's biggest winners.
Lead actor Beto Kusyairy earned the Best Actor award for his stellar performance, while Nik Amir himself was honoured with the Best Director title.
The film also won awards for Best Theme Song, Best Art Direction, Best Editing, and Best Original Story.
Competing against notable films such as Hungry Ghost Dinner, Abang Adik, Rain Town, Sheriff: Narko Integriti, Mechamato Movie, and Duan Nago Bogho, Imaginur stood out with its unique narrative, blending romance with 'hypnotic' elements that added a fresh twist to local cinema.
The award was presented by Communications Ministry's secretary-general Datuk Mohamad Fauzi Md Isa, during the festival's grand finale.
Other notable attendees included Communications Ministry deputy secretary-general (Strategic Communications And Creative Industry) Nik Kamaruzaman Nik Husin, the National Film Development Corporation (Finas) chairman Datuk Kamil Othman, and Finas CEO Datuk Azmir Saifuddin Mutalib.
As predicted, Susan Lankester's remarkable performance in Rain Town earned her the Best Actress award. Earlier this week, Susan was also recognised at the Asian Academy Creative Awards (AACA) 2024 in Singapore.
Elizabeth Tan's captivating role in Sheriff: Narko Integriti secured her the Best Supporting Actress award, while Jack Tan was named Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Abang Adik.
Meanwhile, Abang Adik director, Jin Ong, won the Promising Director award.
In the newcomer categories, Aniq Durar was named Most Promising Male Actor for Pagari Bulan, and Trisha Ooi took home the Most Promising Female Actress award for her role in Janna Endoro.
Young actress Qisya Hairulzain won Best Child Actress for Magik.
Returning after a five-year hiatus, the Best Documentary award was presented to Pekik by Stereo Pixels Sdn Bhd, while The Missong Trophy by Wayang Works Sdn Bhd won Best Short Film.
Special Jury Awards went to Naam Katra Isai and Duan Nago Bogho.
Veteran assistant director and actor A Galak received the Special Award of All Time, while senior cameraman Indera Che Muda was honored with the Special Employee Award for his contributions to the film industry.
Both recipients were recognised with trophies and cash prizes, with the Special Award winner receiving RM10,000.
This year's festival, themed "EMAS - The Evolution of Malaysian Cinema," received 104 entries, with 95 nominations spanning 64 feature films, 20 short films, and 11 documentaries.
The star-studded event, hosted by versatile artiste Datuk AC Mizal, featured performances by prominent Malaysian singers, including Dayang Nurfaizah, Aizat Amdan, Aisha Retno, Marsha Milan, Nikki Palikat, Amir Jahari, Haqiem Rusli, Jaclyn Victor, and Aina Abdul.