Compiled by C. ARUNO, FAZLEENA AZIZ and R. ARAVINTHAN
HORROR film Sumpahan Jerunei has receive its first award in Malaysia, at the Greatest Award Night 2023 in Kuala Umpur, after bagging 15 awards in various categories overseas since last year, Harian Metro reported.
The film about Sarawak’s customs and history was produced by Produksi Seni 2020 Sdn Bhd.
It received a trophy for the International Feature Film category at the Paris Film and Art Awards in March as well as Best Feature Film at the Toronto Independent Film Festival in Canada in September.
Sumpahan Jerunei also received recognition in four categories namely Best Director (Jason Chong), Best Cinematography (Haris Hue Abdullah), Best Original Music Score (Sharon Paul) and Best Producer (Wendy Wong and Nancie Foo) at the Florence International Film Festival.
The film also won Best Actress (Uqasha Senrose), Best Supporting Actress (Daiyan Trisha), Best Lighting and Best Costume Design categories at the 8th European Cinematography Awards last October,
At the Greatest Award Night organised by MAD Branding Group, producers Datuk Nancie Foo and Datin Wendy Wong were awarded the Most Outstanding Producer trophy.
Foo said she was overwhelmed by the recognition and felt encouraged to work harder in the future.
The film features the mysterious past history of the Melanau people, especially related to the custom of burying Melanau nobles.
> Taxi drivers in Changlun near Kubang Pasu, Kedah, are appealing to authorities to act against illegal taxis called kereta sapu that were affecting their income, reported Utusan Malaysia.
The taxi drivers claimed that many illegal operators often pinched their passengers at the Changlun bus and taxi station.
Mohd Noor Majid, 66, said the kereta sapu had been prevalent since last year without enforcement from authorities.
“In the past, many of our passengers were students from nearby universities, but now these illegal operators have taken them. We lost almost 90% of our customers.
“It used to be ehailing drivers, now it’s the illegal operators. It will be difficult for us to earn a living if this situation continues,” he said.
Bukit Kayu Hitam Rural Rental Car Drivers Association secretary Mohd Nazril Ibrahim said most taxi and rental car drivers found it difficult to switch to the ehailing system, which required various conditions including suitable vehicles.
> The absence of a centralised evaluation system such as the Ujian Penilaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) is making it difficult for the Mara Science College (MRSM) to assess the students, Berita Harian reported.
Mara chairman Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki said the absence of UPSR was a factor in the poor results in the entrance test into MRSM.
“It is difficult to assess the true ability and potential of students,” he said in a Facebook post on Wednesday.
The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.
