26 Nov – Singaporean made film "Ilo Ilo" bagged themselves a historic total of four awards at the prestigious Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan last Saturday. Singaporean director Anthony Chen, who had directed short movies like "The Reunion Dinner" and "Lighthouse" won the Best New Director for the film, while actress Yeo Yann Yann from Malaysian film "Petaling Street Warriors" clinched the Best Supporting Actress award for her role in the highly-acclaimed movie. "Ilo Ilo" also won awards for Best Feature Film and the Best Original Screenplay.
"Ilo Ilo" is set during the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s and explores the sometimes tense relationship between a Filipina maid and the Singaporean family for whom she works. Besides the great wins for Singapore, Hong Kong director Wong Kar Wai's "The Grandmaster" took home the most Golden Horse awards of the night, five in all, including best actress for Zhang Ziyi as a kung-fu expert. Earlier this year, "Ilo Ilo" won the Camera d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival for best first feature film. It is also Singapore's submission for best foreign-language film in the Oscar race.