CONTROVERSIAL rapper Namawee’s newly released film ‘Babi’ has been nominated for international awards, including Best Director.
Namawee, or his real name Wee Meng Chee, made the announcement through a Facebook post, later noting, “Nominated outside but banned in Malaysia. Thx (sic) kerajaan …”.
The film was nominated in the Berlin International Festival, Bangkok International Film Festival, Open World Toronto Film Festival and Taiwan’s Golden Horse Award.
According to NME, 'Babi' tells the story of a real-life school racial riot that took place in Malaysia in 2000, which was allegedly covered up by the government.
The rapper said that the script was in fact written seven years ago.
“The main reason that the film was not in production that time was because nobody would ever consider [investing in] a zero-profit film [that might be banned].”
The other reason being he didn’t believe anyone would help, more so after hearing the film title, which would drive them away.
“Yet in the end, I’m [sic] still managed to finish this film with a very very very tight budget.”
‘Babi’ also received a Best Actor nomination for Alif Haikal from the Open World Toronto Film Festival.
The film has courted flak from the Federal Territory Perikatan Nasional Youth, which today lodged a police report against Namewee over ‘Babi’s poster, which allegedly touches on racial sensitivities, reported Bernama.
Its member, Mohammad Azwan Azmi, said they had made the police report as the poster contained the words “Melayu bodoh”, “India keling” and “Cina babi”. – The Vibes, November 19, 2020
