If worldwide response to his first film Ilo Ilo is any indication, Singapore director Anthony Chen may very well win an Oscar for Singapore at next year’s Academy Awards.
The intimate family drama drawn from Chen’s own experience with his former Filipino domestic helper was first screened to a massive international audience at the 66th Cannes Film Festival, during which it received a 15-minute standing ovation.
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Ilo Ilo then went on the win the coveted Camera d’Or award for Best First Feature Film and has since been screened in local cinemas (book your tickets on the Golden Village website).
The advisory committee for the Singapore Film Commission has submitted lo Ilo as an entry to the 2014 Academy Awards under the Best Foreign Language Film category, citing “excellence in execution and performance, accentuated by a thought-provoking storyline” as their rationale, the Straits Times reported.
Support for Chen’s poignant storytelling hasn’t died down despite it being months since Ilo Ilo first screened here, thanks to local initiative Projek Ilo Ilo that organises weekly outings with Filipino domestic helpers in the city, during which free tickets to see the film are given out.
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Filipino maids gather at Lucky Plaza to learn about ‘Ilo Ilo’
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