‘Lucky Lu’ Wins Best Film At Malaysia Film Festival’s Golden Global Awards

Lloyd Lee Choi’s Lucky Lu wont Best Film in the Golden Global Awards of this year’s Malaysia International Film Festival (MIFFest, July 18-25).

The US-Canada collaboration, which premiered in Directors Fortnight at last year’s Cannes film festival, follows a New York City delivery rider whose world is turned upside down when he loses his only source of income. Lloyd Lee Choi is a Korean-Canadian filmmaker based in Brooklyn, New York.

Egyptian filmmaker Morad Mostafa received the Best Director award for Aisha Can't Fly Away, which follows a Sudanese caregiver in Cairo and premiered in Un Certain Regard at last year’s Cannes.

Riverstone, directed by Sri Lankan filmmaker Lalith Rathnayake, picked up two acting awards for Mahendra Perera (Best Actor) and Priyantha Sirikumara (Best Supporting Actor). The film, which follows three police officers escorting a young prisoner through the Sri Lankan landscape, previously won Best Screenplay at last year’s Shanghai International Film Festival (Asian New Talent competition) and Best Director - Asian Feature Film at the Singapore International Film Festival.

Singapore feature film Ah Girl also won two awards: the New Hope Award for director Ang Geck Geck Priscilla, and Best Actress for Ong Xuan Jing, which was shared jointly with Lila Gueneau from Swiss film Silent Rebellion. Best Supporting Actress went to Audrey Lin for her role in Shu Qi’s Girl (see full list of award winners below).

MIFFest’s Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to acclaimed South Korean filmmaker Lee Chang-dong, while Chinese actor and martial artist Wu Jing received the Award for Excellent Achievement in Film. Wu attended the festival for a special screening of Yuen Woo-ping’s Blades Of The Guardians: Wind Rises In The Desert.

MIFFEST 2026 FULL LIST OF WINNERS:

Best Film: Lucky Lu, Lloyd Lee Choi (US, Canada)

Best Director: Morad Mostafa, Aisha Can’t Fly Away (Egypt, France, Germany, Tunisia, Saudi, Qatar, Sudan)

New Hope Award: Ah Girl, dir: Ang Geck Geck Priscilla (Singapore)

Best Actress: Ong Xuan Jing, Ah Girl (Singapore) & Lila Gueneau, Silent Rebellion (Switzerland, Belgium, France)

Best Actor: Mahendra Perera, Riverstone (Sri Lanka)

Best Supporting Actress: Audrey Lin, Girl (Taiwan)

Best Supporting Actor: Priyantha Sirikumara, Riverstone (Sri Lanka)

Best Screenplay: Luis Emilio Guazmán, The Red Hangar (Chile, Argentia, Italy)

Best Cinematography: Diego Pegueño, The Red Hangar (Chile, Argentia, Italy)

Audience Choice Award: Sirāt, dir: Oliver Laxe (Spain, France)