KUALA LUMPUR: A feature film about a young man trying to hack it as an illegal e-hailing driver – a fitting tale during the Covid-19 pandemic – is Malaysia’s choice to represent the country at the 94th Academy Awards (Oscars).

       Directed by Muzammer Rahman, the film Prebet Sapu has been selected by the National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (Finas) to represent the country at the awards ceremony scheduled for March 27 in Los Angeles, the United States.

       Prebet Sapu, which is Muzammer’s directorial debut, features actors Amerul Affendi and Mei Fen Lim in the lead roles and co-stars Bront Palarae, Sharifah Amani, Nam Ron, Nadiya Nisaa, Chew Kin Wah, Jay Iswazir, Anas Ridzuan and Roslan Madun.

       Finas said the film, produced by Le Mediator Studio, Kristal Azmir Sdn Bhd and Konda Kondi Studio, will compete in the Best International Feature Film category.

       The selection was made by the Finas Film Selection Committee, comprising professional and experienced local film industry players.

       “This is after it went through a detailed evaluation process based on filming criteria such as directing, storytelling, cinematography, screenplay, acting, sound mixing, musical score, art direction and editing.“The selection was also made based on compliance with competition rules set by the organisers,” Finas said in a statement to Bernama.

       Besides the Oscars, the black-and-white flick has also represented Malaysia at various international film festivals.

       These include the Udine Far East Film Festival in Italy, the Jogja-Netpac Asian Film Festival in Indonesia, the Toronto Reel Asian Film Festival in Canada, the Asian Film Festival Barcelona in Spain and the Innovative International Film Festival in India.