Chew bags Indonesian award for portrayal in ‘Cek Toko Sebelah’
MALAYSIAN actor Chew Kin Wah did not expect to win any award when he began working with Indonesian productions a few years ago.
But he counted his lucky stars when he won Best Supporting Actor at Indonesia’s Festival Filem Tempo 2017 (FFT 2017) held in Jakarta.
Chew received the award for his portrayal as Koh Afuk in the movie, Cek Toko Sebelah, (released in Indonesia in December last year).
This marked his second win for his role in the comedy-drama directed by his co-star, Ernest Prakasa.
Last March, the 52-year-old received a similar award at the Indonesian Box Office Movie Awards 2017 (Iboma 2017).
At FFT 2017, Chew beat other nominees — Fuad Idris (nominated for his role in Bid’ah Cinta, Yayu Unru (Posesif), Yono Daryono (Turah), and fellow Malaysian actor Bront Palarae (Pengabdi Setan).
On Monday, Bront tweeted: “Congrats to @chewkinwah, Best Supporting Actor at Festival Filem Tempo 2017! #Making Malaysia Proud.
“Maafkan bapak karena enggak bisa buat ‘speech’. Semua dialog di Cek Toko Sebelah dibuat oleh Ernest Prakasa. Terima kasih, terima kasih kepada juri Festival Film Tempo. (Please excuse me for not being able to deliver a ‘speech’. All the dialogue in Cek Toko Sebelah had been written by Ernest Prakasa. I thank all members of the jury at FFT for choosing me),” said Chew when he received the trophy at the awards show in Indonesian.
The actor, who’s been in the Malaysian entertainment scene for more than 30 years, said his involvement with the Indonesian production began when he acted in the super tele, My Stupid Boss, (released in May last year), an Indonesian-Malaysian collaboration, which also starred Reza Rahadian, Bunga Citra Lestari and Bront.
“It was late at night when I received a call from a casting manager asking me to do a telefilm titled My Stupid Boss, an Indonesia-Malaysia collaboration.
“My first response was, ‘yeah sure’. This must be a hoax!
“After a series of audition videos shot on mobile phones, in mamak shops and parking garages, I find myself on a plane to Jakarta for a reading with the director Upi Avianto, whom I Googled and found her work to be interesting,” said Chew in an interview.
Chew added: “For Cek Toko Sebelah, the director Ernest was writing his script when he saw My Stupid Boss, and decided there and then that I was to play Koh Afuk.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Chew posted a picture of the trophy and award certificate on his Instagram, thanking everyone for supporting him. By Tahir Alhamzah