Singapore Pins Oscar Hope On “La Luna” – Film With Strong Malaysian Ties
With stars like Sharifah Amani and Shaheizy Sam, La Luna is bringing together the best of Singaporean and Malaysian talent.
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Singapore’s Oscars hopes for 2025 are pinned on La Luna, a Malay-language comedy-drama with a majority Malaysian cast.
The film has been selected as Singapore’s official submission for the Best International Feature Film category at the 97th Academy Awards, set to take place in March 2025 at the Dolby Theatre, Los Angeles.
The film, which premiered in November 2023, was written and directed by Singaporean filmmaker M. Raihan Halim and stars well-known Malaysian actors, including Sharifah Amani, Wan Hanafi Su, and Shaheizy Sam.
La Luna is set in a fictional village in Perak, Malaysia, where the arrival of a lingerie shop owned by city girl Hanie Abdullah (played by Sharifah Amani) stirs controversy among the conservative villagers.
The ensemble cast, mostly from Malaysia, has played a key role in the film’s success. Malaysian veteran actor Wan Hanafi Su plays the strict village leader Tok Hassan, while Shaheizy Sam stars as the village police chief, Salihin Arshad, a single father who falls for Hanie.
Though La Luna is a Singaporean production, much of its appeal lies in its strong Malaysian connection.
Director Raihan expressed his gratitude for the film’s selection, saying, “My team and I are truly over the moon.” Similarly, Malaysian actors in the film, such as Shaheizy and Sharifah, shared their excitement, with Sharifah describing the role as deeply personal.
With La Luna being Singapore’s entry, it continues the trend of the country’s submissions reflecting multi-lingual and multi-ethnic stories.
However, it also underlines Singapore’s close collaboration with Malaysian talent in creating films with regional resonance.
The selection further cements Singapore’s growing presence in the international film festival circuit, having participated in festivals such as Tokyo and Rotterdam.
Despite no Singaporean film yet making it to the Oscars shortlist in this category, there is optimism that La Luna might break that barrier, representing both Singaporean filmmaking and the collaborative spirit between Singapore and Malaysia.
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