KUALA LUMPUR: Fresh from its win at the 28th Malaysian Film Festival (FFM28), Arena Cahaya is now in the running to clinch Best Original Film Song at the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival, set to take place from Nov 9 to 29.
The song is up against China's It's Cold Without Your Love, from the movie Big Fish & Begonia; China's Sawadika (Detective Chinatown); Taiwan's Love Without Words (Lokah Laqi! Hang In There, Kids!); and China's (It's Not A Crime) It's Just What We Do (Soul Mate).
The original soundtrack for Chiu Keng Guan’s movie Ola Bola is performed by US-based Zee Avi, which she composed with fellow Malaysian songwriter Rendra Zawawi.
Last month, at the FFM28, the tune took home the Best Original Theme Song trophy.
“I'm truly honoured to be a part the team, writing the song alongside Zee Avi, with production assistance from Alvin Wee (who did the mixing). And that the magic of the song has not only been recognised locally but now internationally,” said Rendra when contacted by NST today.
Rendra said he was informed of the good news by Zee via text message.
"When she told me and Alvin about it, we were of course beyond thrilled," he said, adding that he hopes all three of them would be able to attend the event in Taiwan.
Commissioned by Chiu, Zee and Rendra’s timeless and inspirational tune has the quality to invoke a sense of unity and hope.
The track received much airplay well before the movie’s release and during its run at local cinemas earlier this year.
When the song bagged the award at FFM28, Zee wrote on her Instagram account: “... Despite the two English lines, this is my first full song in Malay! It’s heart-warming to see it got this far. It’s really a simple song about hope, unity... ”