KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 22 (Bernama) -- The National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (FINAS) does not intervene in the selection of the jury panel or the determination of winners for the Malaysia Film Festival (FFM), said its chairman, Datuk Dr. Hans Isaac.
Addressing criticism regarding the exclusion of certain actors from the list of the top five nominees, he clarified that FFM results are not decided by FINAS, but rather by the jury panel.
He explained that the jury selection process is conducted via a voting system, and that FINAS management himself included remains unaware of the jurors' identities until the night of the awards ceremony.
“FINAS does not intervene in the selection of the jury at all. We merely provide the facilities and facilitate the process, the jurors themselves are chosen through a voting system.
“The voting is carried out by several individuals, and even those casting the votes do not know who has been selected,” he told reporters after the ITFC 2.0 presentation ceremony at Menara FINAS here today.
Meanwhile, Hans noted that FINAS has improved the winner-selection process by involving industry practitioners who are past FFM award recipients.
“We have also revamped the process, once the top five nominees are determined, previous FFM winners cast their votes to select the best winner. This is something that has never been done at FINAS before. We have learned from previous years to improve the process,” he said.
He expressed hope that local film industry players would accept the FFM (Malaysia Film Festival) results with an open mind and continue to support one another for the sake of the nation’s arts industry.
“Feeling disappointed when not selected as a nominee or a winner for an award is normal, but it should not dampen the spirits of industry players from continuing to create,” he said.
FFM35, themed “Spectrum of Cinema,” is scheduled to take place on November 21 at Panggung Sari, Istana Budaya, here.
-- BERNAMA