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‘An award is an award’: Michelle Chong

SINGAPORE – After Michelle Chong announced that she had taken the Best Director award for Lulu The Movie at the Canada International Film Festival 2017, questions arose online about the validity and significance of the festival itself.

Michelle Chong wrote, directed and starred in Lulu The Movie. Photo: Chua Hong Yin

Michelle Chong wrote, directed and starred in Lulu The Movie. Photo: Chua Hong Yin

SINGAPORE – After Michelle Chong announced that she had taken the Best Director award for Lulu The Movie at the Canada International Film Festival 2017, questions arose online about the validity and significance of the festival itself. Some called the festival “dubious”, pointing to scanty information on the judging panel, as well as to “suspicious” contact details for organisers.

The Canada International Film Festival had been held at a physical location in Vancouver from 2009 to 2016, but transitioned to an online competition this year. Films can be submitted for consideration through FilmFreeway, an online submissions platform.

Production company Huat Films, which produced Lulu The Movie, defended the win.

“Whether it is a big or small festival, they still gave the Best Director award to Michelle Chong, a filmmaker in Singapore, and for that we are honoured,” said Diana Foo, spokesperson for Huat Films. She pointed out that there are over 5,000 listed film festivals on FilmFreeway, which has stringent requirements for film festivals to be listed, and that Huat Films submitted the film to only 10 of the major showings.

She added: “We are a commercial film that did well at the box office and our run ended way before we were informed of this award. We also recently sold our cable and online streaming rights to 10 countries in Asia for a six figure sum. This award was just the icing on the cake.”

Lulu The Movie, a film about a KTV hostess from China in which Chong also starred, brought in S$2.1 million at the Singapore box office when it played in November last year.

“I’m honoured to have won the award. An award is an award,” said Chong. “And now that I know how much film festival awards mean to Singaporeans, I feel inspired to do a non-commercial art house movie next: Lulu – The Real Story. Cannes and Sundance, here I come!”

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