Ilo Ilo Director Anthony Chen Reacts To Oscars Membership Invite: “It’s So Random”
Singaporean filmmaker Anthony Chen found it surreal to be invited to join the Academy of the Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the group behind the Oscars.
The award-winning director of Ilo Ilo and Wet Season is among the 398 artists and executives invited to join the organisation on Wednesday (June 28).
The Hong Kong-based Chen, 39, wrote on his Facebook and Instagram: “Woke up to this! Honoured to be in such fine company. Thank you #TheAcademy.”
Per Academy rules, the membership process is by sponsorship, not application. Candidates must be sponsored by two Academy members from the branch to which the candidate is seeking admission. Oscar winners and nominees are automatically considered for membership and do not require sponsors.
Asked if Chen knew who his sponsors were, he told 8days.sg over Whatsapp: “I have no idea.”
“I only found out in the e-mail yesterday morning,” he added. “I didn’t apply for it. It’s so random.”
He wasn’t the only one who was shocked by the invitation.
“My friend, who’s an editor in Canada, also got invited this round and he almost thought it was a prank. But he filled up the invitation and then realised it’s real. He thought it could be a scam.”
The class of 2023 invitees also includes Taiwan's Chang Chen (Dune), Ke Huy Quan (Everything Everywhere All at Once), NT Rama Rao Jr (RRR), Austin Butler (Elvis) and Taylor Swift. See the full list here.
Two of Chen’s movies — 2013’s Ilo Ilo and 2019’s Wet Season — as well as 2022's He Shuming-directed Ajoomma, which he produced, were selected to represent Singapore at the Oscars in the Best Foreign Language Film (later rebranded as Best International Feature Film) category.
Getting invited doesn’t mean instant membership. When a person is invited, they must accept their invitation to join, which is rolling, with no specific deadline.
Chen said that he has accepted the invitation. Other Singaporean Academy members include actor Chin Han (Skyscraper) and documentarian Tan Pin Pin (Invisible City).
They Cannes do it: Anthony Chen with actors Zhou Dongyu (left) and Liu Haoran promoting The Breaking Ice, his first mainland Chinese film, at Cannes Film Festival on May 22, 2023.
If all the 2023 invitees accept membership, it will bring the total number of overall Academy members to 10,817 — up from last year’s 10,665 — with 9,375 eligible to vote, according to Variety. Of this year's invitees, 40 per cent were women, 34 percent belong to under-represented ethnic and racial communities, and 52 per cent are from 50 countries and territories outside the US.
The 96th Annual Academy Awards is set to take place on Mar 10, 2024.
Chen has two films out this year: The Breaking Ice, his first mainland Chinese film, starring Zhou Dongyu and Liu Haroan, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival; and Drift, his English-language production, with Cynthia Erivo and Alia Shawkat, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in January. Neither film has a local release date yet.
In April, Ajoomma, starring Hong Huifang, became the first Singaporean film to launch on Amazon Prime Video.
Photos: TPG News/Click Photos
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