Mike Wiluan's debut film Buffalo Boys is S'pore's pick for the Oscars

Sep 05, 2018 06:00 am

Mike Wiluan's directorial debut, period action adventure Buffalo Boys, is Singapore's submission to next year's Oscars in the Foreign Language Film category.

The 42-year-old chief executive officer of Singapore- and Batam-based media company Infinite Studios, who co-wrote the script, said: "It was a shock and honour at the same time. Terrifying as well as it's a representative of Singapore, so it carries a lot on its shoulders."

Set in 19th-century Java, the film is about two brothers who grew up in the American Wild West and return home to seek vengeance for the death of their parents.

Opening here tomorrow, it stars Indonesia-born actors Yoshi Sudarso and Ario Bayu and is in Bahasa Indonesia and English.

Wiluan, a Singapore permanent resident, had production experience on films such as Boo Junfeng's Sandcastle (2010) and Eric Khoo's My Magic (2008).

No local film has made it to the shortlist of the Oscars so far. Singapore's previous submissions include Anthony Chen's family drama Ilo Ilo (2013), Boo's psychological drama Apprentice (2016) and Kirsten Tan's set-in-Thailand road movie Pop Aye (2017). - THE STRAITS TIMES