MIFFest 2026 opens with a world premiere Malaysian debut feature and highlights 65 films from 35 countries.
The Malaysia International Film Festival — known as MIFFest — has revealed a rich and diverse lineup for its 9th edition, scheduled to run from July 18 to 25 in Kuala Lumpur. Among the headline announcements, acclaimed South Korean filmmaker Lee Chang-dong and Chinese action star Wu Jing will both receive major honorary awards at this year’s event.
Lee, the celebrated director behind ‘Poetry,’ ‘Burning,’ and ‘Secret Sunshine,’ will be presented with a lifetime achievement award in recognition of his extraordinary and sustained contribution to world cinema. Lee last won the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival’s top prize in 2019 with ‘The Father,’ and his influence on global art cinema has only deepened in the years since.
Wu Jing, whose action films have repeatedly broken box office records across Asia, will receive an award recognizing his impact on contemporary action cinema. The festival will screen his recent Chinese New Year blockbuster ‘Blades of the Guardians: Wind Rises in the Desert,’ a wuxia epic directed by legendary Hong Kong action choreographer Yuen Woo-ping, as part of the tribute program.
This year’s festival opens with the world premiere of ‘BAGA: Tomorrow Belongs to No One,’ the debut feature from Malaysian director Ariff Zulkarnain. Set in a conservative fishing village in Kuala Terengganu, the film centers on a struggling boatman contending with addiction alongside a batik artisan dreaming of transformation. The closing night film will be İlker Çatak’s ‘Yellow Letters,’ winner of the Golden Bear at this year’s Berlinale.
The full lineup comprises 65 films from 35 countries and regions in 27 languages — a breadth that reflects MIFFest’s growing ambition to position itself as Southeast Asia’s premier international film gathering.
The festival’s Malaysia Golden Global Awards (MGGA) will spotlight 10 emerging filmmakers who have produced no more than three narrative feature films, with selected titles including works from directors across Malaysia, Egypt, and the Czech Republic. The emerging filmmaker focus underscores MIFFest’s commitment to nurturing new voices alongside celebrating established masters — a dual mandate that has defined the festival’s identity since its inception.
