'La Luna', which stars Shaheizy Sam (left) and Sharifah Amani, had its world premiere at the Tokyo International Film Festival last month. Photos Handout
La Luna has been selected as Singapore’s entry to the 97th Academy Awards in 2025 in the Best International Feature Film category.
The selection was made by members of the Singapore Film Commission (SFC) Advisory Committee, according to a statement issued by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA).
A shortlist of 15 finalists is scheduled to be announced on Dec 17, with the final five nominees to be unveiled on Jan 17, 2025. The ceremony is set to take place on March 2 at Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
Malay-language comedy-drama La Luna, written and directed by Singaporean filmmaker M. Raihan Halim, opened in cinemas in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia in November 2023. It is available on Netflix.
The story is set in the strict fictional village of Kampong Bras Basah in Perak, Malaysia.
When city girl Hanie Abdullah (Malaysian actress Sharifah Amani) opens a lingerie shop called La Luna, she creates division among the villagers. Some welcome her enterprise, while others are scandalised by it.
Village leader Tok Hassan (Malaysian actor Wan Hanafi Su) is a conservative who wants to see the shop shut down. As Hanie fights to keep it open, she develops feelings for the village police chief and single father Salihin Arshad (Malaysian actor Shaheizy Sam).
La Luna made its world premiere at the Tokyo International Film Festival and participated in the Jogja-Netpac Asian Film Festival. It was the closing film of the International Film Festival Rotterdam.
Justin Ang, IMDA’s assistant chief executive of media, innovation, communications and marketing, said in a statement: “We are excited to be presenting La Luna as Singapore’s entry for the 2025 Oscars. This has been another great year for Made-with-Singapore films, which have had a strong presence at festivals like Cannes, Venice and Busan.
“La Luna is a great testament to Singapore’s multi-lingual and multi-ethnic make-up that gives rise to interesting stories. We are proud of M. Raihan Halim and the production team and cast and look forward to good news at the 2025 Oscars.”
No Singapore film has made it to the shortlist of the Oscars in this category, which was previously known as Best Foreign Language Film.
Singapore’s previous submissions include the set-in-China romantic drama The Breaking Ice (2023) and Singaporean-South Korean drama Ajoomma (2022).
La Luna, produced by Singapore labels Clover Films and Papahan Films in association with Malaysia’s ACT 2 Pictures and One Cool Film, features an ensemble cast from both countries. It was supported by IMDA and the SFC under the Media Talent Progression Programme.
La Luna is Raihan’s second film, after the sports comedy Banting (2014). He said that he is “humbled, amazed and honoured” at having La Luna selected, adding: “My team and I are truly over the moon. Pun intended.”
Shaheizy said he is grateful as it is “every actor’s dream to be part of the world’s most prestigious award event”, while Sharifah reflected that playing Hanie was a “deeply personal experience”.
“Now, to see it being recognised by Singapore as its official selection for the Oscars is simply surreal,” she said. – The Straits Times/Asia News Network
