The National Film Development Corporation (Finas) said director Jin Ong’s debut film was selected after a series of evaluations by its film selection committee, which comprises film industry professionals, and it complies with the criteria set by the Oscars organiser.

“Produced by More Entertainments Sdn Bhd, the film features performances by Jack Tan from Malaysia and Kang Ren Wu from Taiwan.

“This masterpiece has garnered 19 international awards – an achievement that demonstrates Malaysia’s capability to compete and shine on the global level,” read the statement.

Abang Adik was 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.

Finas said Abang Adik also achieved remarkable success in China, with box office earnings reaching RM2.2 million as of Sept 30, after its release on Sept 21, 2024.

“This film created a phenomenon in 2023 with box office earnings of RM14.6 million in Taiwan and RM1.55 million in Hong Kong, making it the first Malaysian film to achieve record-breaking screenings,” it said.

Locally, Abang Adik achieved victory at the Malaysia Golden Global Awards 2024, winning the Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor titles.

Finas said the Malaysian screenings of the movie last December collected RM5.7 million.