Sayang Sayang, the Malaysian film with five Golden Horse nominations, opens here on 5 November

A Malaysian story about three deaf teenagers is up for five awards at Taiwan's Golden Horse, and it reaches Malaysian cinemas on Thursday 5 November. Sayang Sayang, directed by the Taiwanese filmmaker Tang Hsiang-Chu, has five nominations at Taiwan's Golden Horse Awards, The Sun and Screen Daily reported, including one that makes history here.

Three deaf teenagers on the East Coast

The Sun describes the film as following three deaf youths from different backgrounds on Malaysia's east coast: Ajay, played by Nandagopall Mohan in his big-screen debut; Mina, played by Mhia Firdaus; and San San, played by Sasha Tang. Utusan adds that Mhia trained in Muay Thai for the role. TGV's synopsis has an Indian mother opening a sign-language school, Mina dreaming of becoming a Muay Thai boxer, and San San with a bond to the sea. Jo Kukathas, Farah Ahmad, Amir Ahnaf and Khir Rahman are also in the cast. It is a co-production between Malaysia's More Entertainment and Taiwan's IS Entertainment. Free Malaysia Today, listing it in January among the Malaysian films to watch in 2026, said Tang also wrote it, that it is set in Kelantan and Terengganu, and that it was made by a cast and crew of more than 100 people from Malaysia, Taiwan and India.

Five nominations, and a first

The nominations are for original screenplay, supporting actress, new performer, sound effects and visual effects. The Star reported on 2 October that Mhia is the first Malay actress nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Golden Horse. The ceremony is on 22 November at the Taipei Music Center, so a reader who sees it this month will know the film before the winners are named. Mhia told Kosmo on 3 November that she hopes the recognition strengthens her portfolio and helps her apply for a scholarship, and that she acts sincerely, "supaya penonton dapat memahami sesuatu isu" — so that audiences understand an issue.

Which language is it in?

That is a fair question for this film. GSC lists it as Mandarin and TGV as English, both with subtitles; its three leads are deaf, and the synopsis centres on a sign-language school. Both chains classify it P12, and TGV lists 130 minutes.

Where to see it

This site's listings have it at 41 cinemas from Thursday, about 175 sessions a day: GSC carries 582 of the week's 1,040, TGV 330, and Paragon, FST, Mega and 10 Star the rest. Kuala Lumpur has the most, then Selangor, Johor and Perak.

The Sayang Sayang page lists every cinema, and the showtimes page shows each cinema's Sayang Sayang sessions side by side.