KUALA LUMPUR: Polis Evo 3 star Zizan Razak is marking a major milestone in his career by representing Malaysia in the jury panel for the 6th Malaysia International Film Festival or MIFFest.
In a press conference to announce the annual festival at GSC Mid Valley Megamall today, MIFFest chairman Joanne Goh said that comedian and action hero Zizan, 39, would join Hong Kong director Johnnie To as well as Truong Ngoc Anh from Vietnam, Eric Khoo from Singapore and Ryuichi Hiroki from Japan in the panel headed by To.
Goh said: "Zizan is a versatile and world class Malaysian actor and we are proud to name him as a jury member for the first time."
Goh also announced that veteran Hong Kong actress Sylvia Chang would be receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award.
"Chang's contributions to the film industry have been immense and her films have resonated with audiences worldwide."
MIFFest takes place at LaLaport BBCC in Jalan Hang Tuah here from July 23 to 29.
The awards will be held at Zepp Kuala Lumpur in BBCC at 8pm on July 29.
The film festival's opening film is Mark Lee's Eraser, a celebration of Bangsa Malaysia which is also the very last film of the late singer-actress Adibah Noor.
Goh said 300 films from 15 countries were submitted for the festival and 42 films made the final selection.
"The films premiering in the festival include Adoi Jiwa Ku by Steve Yap of Malaysia," said Goh.
A special programme of MIFFest is the Taiwan Programme which features critically acclaimed Taiwanese films and two forums on the evolution of the country's film industry.
MIFFest is also collaborating with the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN) for the programme BIFAN At MIFFest that showcases critically acclaimed South Korean films.
The award categories (five nominees each) of MIFFest are Best Director, Cinematography, Screenplay, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress.
MIFFest also comes with the annual BMW Shorties Awards with 10 categories and 133 submissions.
BMW Shorties is in its 17th year and celebrates Malaysian short films.
For more information visit miffest.com.my.