Udine: “Abang Adik” from Malaysia wins the prize of the Far East Film Festival

Malaysian social drama Abang Adik was named best film and winner of the Golden Mulberry Prize at the Far East Film Festival in Udine, Italy on Sunday.

The film is the story of two undocumented men and orphans who may or may not be real brothers but who lift each other up. The film’s director, Jin Ong, received the White Mulberry award for Best Debut Feature, and “Abang Adik” added a third award given by the festival’s season pass holders.

Second place on the podium went to South Korea with Chang Hang-jun’s “Rebound”, while third place went to Japan’s Suzuki Masayuki’s “Yudo”.

Other awards included a Mulberry for Best Screenplay, which went to Taiwanese director Fu Tien-Yu’s Day Off, and the MYmovies Readers’ Award, which went to Janchivdorj Sengedorj’s Mongolian comedy The Sales Girl.

The previously announced Golden Mulberry Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Japanese actress Baisho Chieko.

Festival organizers report that the 25th edition of the FEFF attracted more than 60,000 spectators and 1,600 accredited guests to see 78 titles from 14 countries – including nine world premieres.

“These are very positive results. We consider it essential to invite institutions (Italian regional and cultural funding) to think,” said the co-directors of the FEFF, Sabrina Baracetti and Thomas Bertacche.

“We believe that given the long road it has taken to get to where it is today, the festival deserves to continue to see its potential for growth come to fruition. Are the public authorities ready to support the FEFF with more resources and make it a real hub connecting East and West? Will the future of the FEFF continue to be that of a major international film festival? Can his network of relationships of over twenty years be expanded into something more far-reaching?”