Anthony Chen wears a Gucci cotton shirt and wool sweater
Congratulations Anthony Chen! Winning four of the six major awards Ilo Ilo was nominated for, including Best Film, Best New Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress for Yeo Yann Yann.
“We are from a really small country, and made a film of the smallest scale and even smaller budget … I never would have imagined that we would win Best Feature Film at the Golden Horse Awards,” said Chen. He also respectfully acknowledged his fellow nominees, all of which were veterans in the Asian film industry. “Thank you so much for the honour, for opening up the Mandarin cinema world’s eyes to Singapore film and for opening a new page in Singapore film. This will certainly encourage young Singaporean film directors to follow their dreams,” he said
The film has entered a bid to be nominated at the Golden Globes and the Oscars and we can only wait and hope to hear favourable news soon.
Ilo Ilo is inspired by his domestic helper and the relationship between a Singaporean family and their maid, set against the backdrop of the 1997 financial crisis. Soaked in local flavour, it garnered rave reviews from critics and audiences alike, appealing to people from Asia and beyond.
“It’s a personal and emotional journey. After graduating with my Masters from the UK, I wanted to make a feature film in Singapore. At that point, I was at a time in most people’s lives when childhood memories haunt them, and I was remembered when I was a kid we had a Filipino helper Theresa, whom we called aunt Terry. She was with us for eight years and left when I was 12. Even though we lost contact, I still remembered how hard I cried at the airport when I last saw her. That kept haunting me, so I slowly developed that into screenplay.” – Anthony Chen on what inspired Ilo Ilo
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