PM Lee lauds Ilo Ilo's Golden Horse win on Facebook

SINGAPORE - Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong congratulated Singaporean director Anthony Chen and actress Yeo Yann Yann as well as the cast and crew of Ilo Ilo for their win at the 50th Golden Horse Awards, through a Facebook post on Sunday.

The Awards was held in Taiwan on Saturday night.

The family drama set in Singapore won a total of four awards, including Best Feature Film.

It also snagged 29-year-old Chen two awards for Best New Director and Best Original Screenplay for his debut full-length feature film. Malaysian Yeo won for Best Supporting Actress.

Wrote PM Lee in his Facebook post: "Heartiest congrats to Anthony, Yann Yann, and the cast and crew of ILO ILO 爸妈不在家! for winning four Golden Horse awards last night.

"Singapore celebrates your impressive achievements. I hope this success will spur you and our other local film-makers to continue telling great stories."

In his acceptance speech for best film, Chen said: "We come from a small country and this film probably has the smallest scale and budget and I never expected to win."  He accepted the award from acclaimed directors Ang Lee and Hou Hsiao-hsien. It is the first time a Singaporean film has won the prize.

candicec@sph.com.sg