Lloyd Lee Choi’s Lucky Lu won best film at the Malaysia Golden Global Awards where nine-year-old Singaporean Ong Xuan Jing tied for best actress for her performance in Ah Girl.
Held during the closing ceremony of the 9th Malaysia International Film Festival (MIFFest) on Saturday (July 25), other big winners included Chilean thriller The Red Hangar and Sri Lankan drama Riverstone while honorary awards went to South Korean auteur Lee Chang-dong and Chinese action icon Wu Jing.
Scroll down for full list of winners
Winning best film, Lucky Lu added to a string of accolades it has won since premiering in Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes in 2025. The US-Canada co-production centres on a delivery rider in New York, whose only source of income is stolen. It previously won three Golden Horse Awards.
The best actress award was a tie between Ong and France’s Lila Gueneau for Marie-Elsa Sgualdo’s Silent Rebellion.
Ong plays the title role in Singapore coming-of-age drama Ah Girl, which was made when she was only seven years old. She previously earned the Firebird Award for best actress in the Chinese-language Young Cinema Competition at the Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF) in April.
Ah Girl director Ang Geck Geck Priscilla received a New Hope Award in recognition of her as a promising new cinematic voice. Inspired by her own childhood, her feature debut centres on a young girl who is forced to grow up quickly following the separation of her parents.
Egyptian filmmaker Morad Mostafa was named best director for Aisha Can’t Fly Away, which also premiered at Cannes in 2025.
Juan Pablo Sallato’s The Red Hangar earned Luis Emilio Guzmán the best screenplay award while Diego Pequeño won best cinematography for his work on the film, which premiered at the Berlinale. Lalith Rathnayake’s Riverstone clinched two acting prizes: best actor for Sri Lanka’s Mahendra Perera and best supporting actor for Priyantha Sirikumara.
Key moments from the ceremony included the presentation of the Lifetime Achievement Award to Korean auteur Lee Chang-dong and the Excellent Achievement in Film Award to Chinese actor and martial artist Wu Jing. Both were on hand to receive their award on stage.
The awards were chaired by acclaimed Indian actor-director Anurag Kashyap, along with Thai actor Ananda Everingham, Hong Kong art director Man Lim-Chung, Taiwan-based Myanmar director Midi Z and Malaysian actress Sharifah Amani.
MIFFest was founded by Malaysia-based Jazzy Group’s Joanne Goh. The festival lost three films this year due to censorship, including Shu Qi’s Girl, Andrei Tarkovsky’s 1966 historical drama Andrei Rublev and the world premiere of Wang Yang’s June.
The 9th MIFFest was held from July 18-25 in Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysia Golden Global Awards 2026
Best Film
Lucky Lu
Best Director
Morad Mostafa, Aisha Can’t Fly Away
Best Actress
Ong Xuan Jing, Ah Girl
Lila Gueneau, Silent Rebellion
Best Actor
Mahendra Perera, Riverstone
Best Supporting Actress
Audrey Lin, Girl
Best Supporting Actor
Priyantha Sirikumara, Riverstone
Best Screenplay
Luis Emilio Guazmán, The Red Hangar
Best Cinematography
Diego Pegueño, The Red Hangar
New Hope Award
Ah Girl, dir. Ang Geck Geck Priscilla
Audience Choice Award
Sirāt, dir. Oliver Laxe
Lifetime Achievement Award
Lee Chang-dong
Excellent Achievement in Film Award
Wu Jing
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