Home Cheyenne Tan thrilled by Oscar nomination
KUCHING: The Oscar nomination secured by Sarawakian Cheyenne Tan and her fellow filmmakers for their documentary ‘ St Louis Superman’ on Monday has left all of them thrilled.
Speaking to The Borneo Post, Tan stressed that the film’s success was solely down of the ‘storytelling superpowers’ of Bruce Franks Jr, the subject of their short documentary.
“We are profoundly grateful to have been able to work with Bruce to tell his story. We share this honour with Bruce and our whole filmmaking team including our champions at MTV Documentary Films and AJE Witness.
“At a critical moment for our democracy, Bruce’s activism couldn’t be more urgent,” she said Wednesday.
The team also extended their appreciation to the Academy for recognising the film and Franks Jr’s work.
Tan, a former SMK St Mary student, made history as the first Sarawakian to have a film nominated for an Oscar.
‘St Louis Superman’ – the film she co-produced – is among five titles nominated for the ‘Documentary Short Subject Category’ in the 92nd Academy Awards.
Fellow Malaysian Poh Si Teng – also a producer of the documentary – is an Emmy
We are profoundly grateful to have been able to work with Bruce to tell his story. We share this honour with Bruce and our whole filmmaking team including our champions at MTV Documentary Films and AJE Witness.
Cheyenne Tan
nominated director, and also a commissioner and senior producer for Al Jazeera English’s flagship documentary Witness.
Born and raised in Penang, Poh strand currently lives in Washington D.C.
The documentary was directed by Smriti Mundhra and Sami Khan, who are both seasoned filmmakers with many accolades to their names.
‘St Louis Superman’ follows the struggles of 34-year-old Bruce Franks Jr, a Ferguson activist and battle rapper who was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives, which was overwhelmingly white and Republican.
Known as ‘ Superman’ to his constituents, Franks Jr was forced to deal with the trauma he has been carrying for nearly 30 years, ever since his nine-yearold older brother was shot and killed in front of him.
Only by confronting his pain can he find peace and truly fulfill his destiny as a leader for his community.
The half-hour documentary trails Franks Jr at a critical juncture in his life where he must overcome both personal trauma and political obstacles to pass a Bill pivotal to his community.
‘St Louis
Superman’ won several awards at international film festivals last year and was acquired by the legendary Sheila Nevins-led MTV Documentary Films for distribution in the United States.
For the complete list of nominations in this year’s Academy Awards, visit https:// www.oscars.org/oscars/ ceremonies/2020.
The awards ceremony will be held on Feb 9 at the Dolby Theatre of Hollywood & Highland Centre in Hollywood.
It will go live on the ABC Television Network and will be also televised live in 225 countries and territories worldwide.