‘I feel so happy’: director of Malaysian social drama Abang Adik on sweeping the top prizes at Udine’s Far East Film Festival
- Jin Ong’s film won the Golden Mulberry audience award, the Black Dragon Critics’ prize, and award for best first feature at Far East Film Festival in Italy
- ‘Three is beyond my expectations,’ says Ong, a veteran producer but a first-time director on Abang Adik, which depicts brothers living in poverty in Malaysia
On April 30, Abang Adik, the first feature film directed by veteran Malaysian film producer Jin Ong (whose full name is Ong Lay Jin), swept the top prizes at the 25th edition of the Far East Film Festival (FEFF) in Udine, Italy, which featured a line-up of 78 films from 14 countries.
It is the first time in the festival’s history that a film from Southeast Asia has simultaneously won the Golden Mulberry audience award, the Black Dragon Critics’ Prize, and the White Mulberry Award for best first feature.
The achievements come hot on the heels of Abang Adik’s two other wins: the audience prize and the Ecumenical Jury Award at Switzerland’s 37th Fribourg International Film Festival in March.
The film is a gripping exposé of Kuala Lumpur’s hidden world of undocumented and disadvantaged inhabitants.
“I feel so happy, honestly,” Ong tells the Post in an interview. “I didn’t expect to win three awards, I thought maybe one, because after the first screening I received a lot of feedback and compliments from the audience. But I got three, which is beyond my expectations.
