6 Aug - Both films might not have spelt box office gold during its general release earlier, but Osman Ali and Mamat Khalid can now beam proudly as "Anak Halal" and "Kala Malam Bulan Mengambang" received the most nominations for this year's Festival Filem Malaysia Ke-21 (21st Malaysian Film Festival). "Anak Halal" is the top nominee this year with 12 out of 23 categories, including Best Picture. At the announcement held at GSC Signature KL on 4 August 2008, an overwhelmed Osman Ali told reporters of his gratitude for "Anak Halal" receiving more nominations than he had ever hoped for. Osman said, "I'm already satisfied that the movie got so much recognition. Winning any category would be a bonus."
Tied with "Kala Malam Bulan Mengambang" (11 nominations each) is the yet to be released Hatta Azad Khan art drama "Wayang", in which there is a Best Actor nomination for Eman Manan for his portrayal of an austere master puppeteer. Produced by UiTM and to be distributed by Metrowealth, "Wayang" is due to be released in November. Other films include "1957 Hati Malaya" with 9 nominations, "Congkak" (5), M. Subash's "Pensil" (5), "Evolusi KL Drift" (5), "Anak" (4), "Cuci" (3) and "Johnny Bikin Filem" (1). "Susuk", which recently released after two years of hanging in the balance, also received 8 nominations in total, including Best New Actress for Diana Rafar. Nominees for Best Director are - Osman Ali ("Anak Halal"), Mamat Khalid ("KMBM"), Hatta Azad Khan ("Wayang"), Shuhaimi Baba ("1957 Hati Malaya"), and Ahmad Idham ("Congkak"), with the first three directors also competing for Best Original Story and Best Screenplay. This year's FFM'21 will be broadcast live from PICC Putrajaya over ASTRO Ria and Sinar FM. It will also offer 13 premiere awards, 5 jury specials and 11 creative awards.