'Spilt Gravy' voted best film at Malaysian Film Festival after it took more than 10 years to be released

'Spilt Gravy' takes home the Best Film at FFM on Dec 2. Photo: Bernama

Dark comedy film Spilt Gravy was crowned as the Best Film at the 32nd Malaysian Film Festival (FFM) late last night (Dec 2).

Success was much sweeter since it took more than 10 years for the film to be shown on the silver screen.

Producer, Zarul Albakri Ikmal described the win as meaningful despite not expecting the long wait for his younger brother Datuk Zahim Albakri Ikmal's debut to be a success at the prestigious awards held at the Encore Theatre.

He even admitted that he was disappointed and even gave up after the film which was completed in 2011 did not pass the Film Censorship Board (LPF) and was required to make changes to obtain approval for the screening.

"After 2018, we were given the opportunity to sit down and renegotiate with the Censorship Board. So the dialogue had to be rewritten in the making of the film.

"This ‘win’ is very important to me because for almost 10 years we did not make any film and this has given us a breath of fresh air.

"Tonight, we were able to breathe again,” he said to reporters in Melaka.

The film also won six awards namely, Most Promising Director and Best Screenplay, Best Costume Design, Best Art Direction, Best Editing, and Best Supporting Actress (Juliana Ibrahim).

Zarul further commented that Spilt Gravy only earned not more than RM1mil at the box office even though the cost of making the film was RM3mil.

"I can also say that this success proved that our film was not judged based on ticket sales and the proceeds from the winnings will also be channelled back to the film industry," he said.

Zahim also admitted that he was happy with the win but was a little sad because he could not celebrate the good news with his friend the late Jit Murad who was also the writer for the movie.

"I did not think that I would win. I am also pleased to see the judges more open in judging in addition to embracing the various genres in the film industry available in this country.

"The success of Spilt Gravy was in the scripting. It was the core and I believe the late Jit Murad was a genius and I was lucky to be able to work with him,” he said.

The dark comedy film, which was originally released on Nov 8, 2015, was officially shown in cinemas on June 9.

It tells the story of five siblings from five different mothers and a father who grew up in different directions besides featuring the story of a middle-class family.

Led by veteran actor Datuk Rahim Razali, the film also featured acting by Na’a Murad, Bernice Chauly, Sean Ghazi, Juliana Ibrahim and Zahim as the main character.

Besides a trophy, ZSA Productions Sdn Bhd and Nuansa Sdn Bhd also received RM500,000 from the Digital Content Fund of the National Film Development Corporation (Finas). – Bernama