Malaysian Director Ho Yuhang Nabs FT/Oppenheimer Funds Emerging Voices Awards

LAST night, the FT/Oppenheimer Funds Emerging Voices Awards handed out its prizes in New York, and Malaysia came out on top.

Local filmmaker Ho Yuhang won in the film category for his dark and harrowing short film, Trespassed, beating out competition from Thailand, India, China and Vietnam to take home the USD$40,000 prize (great timing!). The film category was only open to nations within the Asia Pacific region.

As mentioned in the Malay Mail back in August, Trespassed tells the story of a young girl who suffers from epileptic fits after her father goes missing, but there are no medical solutions to her problem. Eventually, she starts appearing in her mother’s dream and reveals a possible solution to her suffering.

Yuhang is best known for directing Rain Dogs (2006) and At The End of Daybreak (2009), although as an actor he has appeared in films like Dain Said’s Bunohan and Namewee’s Nasi Lemak 2.0.

This is the inaugural edition of the FT/Oppenheimer Funds Emerging Voices Awards. The newly-established body aims to “recognise extraordinary artistic talent in three categories – fiction literature, film-making and art across more than 100 emerging market nations”.

Jury members for the film category include film critic at the Financial Times, Nigel Andrews, as well as film directors Samira Makhmalbaf, Mira Nair, Rithy Panh, and Jia Zhangke.