Singapore Selects 'La Luna' As The Country's Submission For Oscars
'La Luna' is a comedy starring Malaysian actors Shaheizy Sam and Sharifah Amani.
By Yap Wan Xiang — 11 Oct 2024, 12:48 PM
Singapore has selected the Malay-language comedy, La Luna, as its bid for the Best International Feature Film category at the 97th Academy Awards in 2025
According to Singapore's Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), the film was selected by members of the Singapore Film Commission (SFC) Advisory Committee, reported the Straits Times.
Premiered in November 2023, the movie was written and directed by Singaporean filmmaker M Raihan Halim. It follows the story of a woman who opens a lingerie shop in a village, drawing disapproval from the conservative village leader.
The film boasts a cast of predominantly Malaysian actors, starring Shaheizy Sam, known for his role in the Polis Evo franchise, and Sharifah Amani, famous for her role as the female lead in Yasmin Ahmad's Sepet. Syumaila Salihin, who starred in Mentega Terbang, portrays as the rebellious daughter in this film.
The story is set in the fictional village of Kampong Bras Basah in Perak, with most scenes shot in Malaysia.
The film was produced by several film production companies from Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong — specifically, Louis Koo's One Cool Film.
"We are excited to be presenting La Luna as Singapore's entry for the 2025 Oscars," said Justin Ang, IMDA's assistant chief executive of media, innovation, communications and marketing
"This has been another great year for Made-with-Singapore films, which have had a strong presence at festivals like Cannes, Venice, and Busan.
"La Luna is a great testament to Singapore's multi-lingual and multi-ethnic make-up that gives rise to interesting stories. We are proud of M Raihan Halim and the production team and cast and look forward to good news at the 2025 Oscars," he added.
No Singaporean film has ever made it to the shortlist for the Oscars in the Best International Feature Film category, previously known as Best Foreign Language Film.
When the movie was released on Netflix, it received heavy criticism from Malaysian writers and religious leaders for its alleged insult to Islam.
One preacher slammed the movie for promoting soft pornography, while a writer criticised it for pitting a liberal protagonist against a conservative antagonist.
From left to right: Actors Syumaila Salihin and Sharifah Amani starring in 'La Luna'.
Image via Clover Films via Netflix