The film, which recently celebrated its milestone of reaching the 1 million-viewer mark, bagged the prestigious Best Feature Film trophy, seeing off heavy competition from Aruna & Lidahnya (Aruna & Her Palate) and fellow remake Wiro Sableng: Pendekar Kapak Maut Naga Geni 212.

Keluarga Cemara also won Best Adapted Screenplay and the film’s director Yandy Laurens also brought home the Iqbal Rais Award for Best Newcomer in Directing.

In the Best Theme Song category, Keluarga Cemara won with “Harta Berharga” (Valuable Treasure) as sung by Bunga Citra Lestari, beating Dilan 1990’s “Dulu Kita Masih Remaja” (When We Were Young) by Ajeng KF and Ayat-Ayat Cinta 2’s (The Verses of Love 2) “Bulan Dikekang Malam” (The Moon Held by the Night) by Rossa.

Keluarga Cemara also brought home Best Film Score by Ifa Fachir along with Best Young Performer, which went to Adhisty Zara.

Released on Jan. 3, Keluarga Cemara, an adaptation of a well-loved drama series first aired on television station RCTI in 1996, had been watched by 1.24 million viewers as of Sunday, according to data from filmindonesia.or.id. The movie and series originated from the short stories written by renowned author and journalist Arswendo Atmowiloto in Hai magazine in the 1980s. The stories were later published by Gramedia.

Producer Anggia Kharisma, when celebrating the movie’s milestone in gaining over 1 million viewers, said the movie for her was very personal. “We made the movie for our children and I trusted Yandi Laurens’ ability as a director to retain the values from the original,” she said as quoted by kompas.com.

Action fantasy film Wiro Sableng, directed by Angga Dwi Sasongko, swept the second-highest number of awards on the night.

Based on Bastian Tito’s novel, the film – a collaboration between Lifelike Pictures and Fox International Productions, a division of 20th Century Fox – brought home five of its 14 nominations. The five trophies went for Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Sound Design, Best Special Effects and Best Costume Design.

On Saturday, the Best Director category was won by Timothy “Timo” Tjahjanto for Sebelum Iblis Menjemput (Before the Devil Comes). Other nominees in the category were Edwin for Aruna & Lidahnya, Andibachtiar Yusuf for Love for Sale, Kamila Andini for Sekala Niskala (The Seen and Unseen) and Rako Prijanto for Teman Tapi Menikah (Friends but Married).

Actor Gading Marten received the Best Lead Actor award for his role in Love for Sale. He also won the Piala Citra for his role as Richard A. Widjaja in the same movie in December last year.

Gading’s portrayal of love-averse Richard edged out some heavy competition, including Iqbaal Ramadhan in Dilan 1990, Vino G. Bastian in Wiro Sableng and Ringgo Agus Rahman in Keluarga Cemara.

Receiving the award, Gading thanked the support he received from his family and production house, dedicating the award to his daughter Gempi.

“As I dedicated the Citra Award that I received to my father, I will dedicate this award to my daughter Gempita Nora Marten, who just celebrated her birthday yesterday. This one’s for her,” Gading said as quoted by kompas.com.

Actress Luna Maya won Best Lead Actress for her tribute to horror movie legend Suzzanna in Suzzanna: Bernapas Dalam Kubur (Suzzanna: Breathing in the Grave), beating Dian Sastrowardoyo in Aruna & Lidahnya, Nirina Zubir in Keluarga Cemara and Sissy Prescilla in Milly & Mamet: Ini Bukan Cinta & Rangga (Milly & Mamet: This is Not Cinta & Rangga).

Clutching the trophy, Luna profusely thanked God for the award, saying she never thought of winning, thinking that the award would go to either Nirina or Dian. But she felt grateful for getting the award following the long arduous hours of filming the movie. “I even forgot to properly express my gratitude because I really didn’t think I would win, just be nominated,” Luna said.

First held in 2012, the Piala Maya was initiated by Indonesian online film aficionados as a token of appreciation for Indonesian cinema. The awards have been likened to the United States’ Golden Globes, with the Piala Citra standing in for the Academy Awards

This year, taking the theme of “7umbuh Kembang” (Grow and Bloom) – a stylistic choice as it is now in its seventh year, a total of 24 categories were up for grabs, with nominees for each category announced on Jan. 8.

Last year’s Piala Maya winners included Marlina Si Pembunuh dalam Empat Babak (Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts) as Best Feature Film, and Joko Anwar as Best Director for Pengabdi Setan (Satan’s Slave). (ste)