MALAYSIAN actress Maya Karin recently won the Best Actress award at the Ramsgate International Film and TV Festival for her performance in the Malaysian-made film Olympic Dream.
The annual festival typically takes place in the English seaside town of Ramsgate. Unfortunately this year the festival had to be held online due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
This is the third time that Maya has won an international award for her performance.
Her first international acting award came in 2004 at the 49th Asia-Pacific Film Festival in Fukuoka, Japan for her turn as a vengeful vampire in Pontianak Harum Sundal Malam.
Her second international award came at the Estepona Fantasy and Terror Film Festival in 2005 at Malaga Spain, this time for her performance in the sequel Pontianak Harum Sundal Malam 2.
“I am grateful for the all opportunities that have come my way, and for my producers [who have trusted] me with these roles,” she said to theSun in a telephone interview.
She is glad that she was able to make her producers feel that they had made the right choice by casting her in their films.
Shot three years ago under the direction of Don Hoe, Olympic Dream tells the story of a nine-year-old orphan named Anna Wong who dreams of becoming a badminton star and representing her country in the Olympics.
Maya plays Anna’s adoptive mother Cik Fatimah, who supports the young girl’s dreams of international stardom.
The film also features cameo appearances by real-life Malaysian badminton legends, including Rashid Sidek, Cheah Soon Kit, and Ong Ewe Hock.
“I did not base Cik Fatimah on any [real-life] character,” she says.
“When it comes to my roles, I just usually let my instincts take over.”
Maya was extremely nervous playing a character who ages throughout the film, going from her 30s to her 50s.
She worked extra hard to make sure her body language and her voice changed according to the character’s age. She was determined to make her character as believable as possible.
In the past, Maya has been known to be choosy with her scripts. So what was it that made her accept Olympic Dream in the first place?
“I have always been involved Malay productions with a Malay target audience,” she says.
“But this is a Chinese production. More than 60% of the dialogue was in Mandarin.”
She loves the fact that her character had taken in the young girl, without forcing her to adopt her culture and her religion.
“The young girl goes to a Chinese school and speaks Chinese to her friends,” Maya said.
“When she is at home, she speaks Malay to me.”
She believes the film embodies the true Malaysian spirit.
“I love the harmony in the film, and hope the audience will take inspiration from it.”
Fans will also be able to see Maya in an upcoming Hollywood zombie film titled Alone. The film stars Teen Wolf star Tyler Posey and the legendary Donald Sutherland.
As for her next film project, she said she is still deciding between four scripts. We shall have to wait and see which one she chooses.
