KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 3 — The feature film Prebet Sapu, directed by Muzammer Rahman, has been selected by the National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (Finas) to represent the country at the 94th Academy Awards (Oscars) which is scheduled to be held in Los Angeles, the United States, on March 27.

Finas, in a statement, said the film, produced by Le Mediator Studio, Kristal Azmir Sdn Bhd and Konda Kondi Studio, would compete in the Best International Feature Film category.

The selection was made by the Finas Film Selection Committee, which comprises professional and experienced local film industry players.

"This is after it has gone through a detailed evaluation process based on filming criteria such as directing, storytelling, cinematography, screenplay, acting, sound mixing, musical scores, art direction and editing.

"The selection was also made based on compliance with the competition rules set by the organisers themselves,” according to the statement.

Finas said Prebet Sapu, which was Muzammer’s debut direction, features Amerul Affendi and Mei Fen Lim as the leads.

It also features Bront Palarae, Sharifah Amani, Nam Ron, Nadiya Nisaa, Chew Kin Wah, Jay Iswazir, Anas Ridzuan, Roslan Madun, among others.

Finas said apart from the Oscars, the black and white flick had also represented Malaysia at various international film festivals including the Udine Far East Film Festival, Italy; Jogja-Netpac Asian Film Festival (JAFF) Indonesia; Toronto Reel Asian Film Festival, Canada; Asian Film Festival Barcelona, Spain; and the Innovative International Film Festival in India.

Prebet Sapu revolves around a young man earning a living in Kuala Lumpur as an illegal e-hailing driver. — Bernama