Basking in Ilo Ilo's afterglow

A NEW chapter was written into the history of Singapore cinema when Anthony Chen bagged the Best Film prize at the Golden Horse Awards last Sunday with his debut feature Ilo Ilo. The modest family drama was a dark horse in the race and the first-time director faced stiff competition from the other heavyweight veteran nominees in the category.

In the end, the victory might have been a narrow one but is significant all the same. Singapore Film Society's programming manager David Lee, who attended the ceremony and followed Taiwanese press reports, says the media there revealed Mr Chen won by just one vote after four rounds of voting by the jury which was led by Lee Ang.

Johnnie To's Drug War was eliminated first, followed by Wong Kar Wai's The Grandmaster and Jia Zhangke's A Touch of Sin. In the end, Mr Chen's Ilo Ilo beat Best Director winner Tsai Ming Liang's Stray Dogs by just one vote to clinch the honour, which is considered the most prestigious prize in Chinese cinema. In addition, the film also bagged Best New Director and Best Original Screenplay for Mr Chen, as well as Best Supporting Actress for Yeo Yann Yann; making it four wins out of its six nominations.