PUTRAJAYA, Nov 22 — Malaysian film Abang Adik has won the best film prize at the 10th Asian World Film Festival (AWFF) in Los Angeles, United States, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil announced today.
Fahmi said that the film defeated 15 entries from Asia, to win the Snow Leopard Trophy.
Lead actor Wu Kang-ren from Taiwan, was named best actor, marking his second personal award for the same film following his win at the 60th Golden Horse Awards in Taipei last year.
Abang Adik competed for the Snow Leopard Trophy alongside films including How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies (Thailand), 12.12: The Day from South Korea, Laapataa Ladies (India), and Meeting with Pol Pot (Cambodia).
The critically acclaimed film is Malaysia's official entry for the Best International Feature Film category at the 97th Academy Awards.
Abang Adik was previously named Best Film at the Asia New York Film Festival (22nd Uncaged Competition) and won the Golden Mulberry, Black Dragon Critics' Award, and White Mulberry Award for Best Feature Film at the 25th Far East Film Festival in Udine, Italy.
It also received recognition at Switzerland's 37th Fribourg International Film Festival and the First Film Festival in China.
National news agency Bernama reported that the film had also achieved remarkable success in China, with box office earnings reaching RM2.2 million as of September 30, merely nine days after its release on September 21.
Locally, Abang Adik achieved victory at the Malaysia Golden Global Awards 2024, winning the Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor titles.