Datuk Yusof Haslam has decided to quit all his involvements in future Malaysia Film Festivals, after things got heated at the Program Tanya FINAS 2.0 (Ask FINAS) yesterday.
Haslam was accused of using his influence to get nominations in the upcoming 28th Malaysia Film Festival for his son’s films, Munafik and Mat Motor, both produced by Skop Productions where he is the managing director.
Haslam, who is also the chairman of the Malaysia Film Producers Association (PFM), got offended when met with the accusation. “I got emotional when many parties started pointing fingers at me saying I had my personal interests at heart, because my son’s films are nominated for Best Film. I don’t even know who the juries are.”
“Let the others take it from here. I’m still actively making films, and I don’t want to be met with a similar accusation in the future.” he added as he affirmed his disassociation form the Malaysia Film Festival.
The 28th Malaysia Film Festival has been under a lot of heat because of its segregation of Bahasa Malaysia and non-Bahasa Malaysia films for the Best Film award, causing critically acclaimed films like Jagat and Ola Bola to fall out of the category.
Minister Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan has also criticized this biased move by FFM and FINAS. “There is no place for language profiling in creative industry. Don’t use it to curtail their creativity. Let them be and see the spark!”
[Source]
