Discomfort amid the string of Ilo Ilo successes

I congratulate the producers, director, scriptwriter, cast and production members of Ilo Ilo.

The latest great news is that “Ilo Ilo clinches 6 major Golden Horse nominations” (Oct 2) in top categories, including Best Film, Best New Director and Best Original Screenplay. As a Singaporean, I am proud that this film has come this far.

However, I also feel uncomfortable about the whole situation. I wonder what would have happened if the producers and director had not sent the film to international festivals, such as the prestigious Cannes Film Festival.

Would the Singaporean audience give the same good reviews or even watch the film? I have my reservations. Many good Singapore films have touched on different relevant areas of the society, but they were often short-run and failed to leave strong impressions.

Ilo Ilo could have been compared to Jack Neo’s satirical films and, perhaps, even rated worse because of its lack of comedic elements. We will never know. The film premiered in Singapore after its success in Cannes. The hype, whether needed or not, was already there.

So, are Singaporean audiences really supporting this local film or are they supporting because of its glories?

Ultimately, do we want future film producers to try to get international recognition, so as to get local support, or do we want Singaporeans to really support the pluralistic range of local films?

I fear that a lot must still be done to achieve the latter.