curated by the fête Chinoise Team
Images from Harper’s Bazaar HK, Michelle Yeoh’s official instagram and Jamie Lee Curtis

This is the quote and billboard image of the year it seems... and has been widely shared by Jamie Lee Curtis on social media several times recently with all the victories and shiny hardware that the film Everything Everywhere All at Once is taking home!

Earlier at the Producers Guild Awards, the film won the Award for Best Picture, a huge win for the Daniels (directors Daniel Kwan and Dinel Scheinert) and producer Jonathan Wang. And it is said that this prize is usually a strong indicator of what will win best picture at the Oscars.

Last night at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, the film swept the evening with 4 major awards: Best Ensemble — Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, Best Supporting Actress — Outstanding Performance by a Female in a Supporting Role for a Motion Picture (Jamie Lee Curtis), Best Supporting Actor — Outstanding Performance by a Male in a Supporting Role for a Motion Picture (Ke Huy Quan), and of course the win so highly anticipated for Michelle Yeoh, Best Actress for an Outstanding Performance by a Female in a Leading Role. 

Through the lens of representation in Hollywood, the evening's nominations and awards were all huge milestones. Ke Huy Quan made history being the first Asian to win in his category and Michelle Yeoh as well became the first Asian Woman to win in hers at the Screen Actors Guild. Stephanie Hsu was also nominated for her role in Everything Everywhere All At Once, alongside Hong Chau from the Whale, which was a year of the most nominations for Asian-Americans at the industry awards. For many involved in the film, including veteran James Hong, it has been a landscape-changing experience that reflects the enduring dedication to their craft for many actors who were unseen or underrecognized for a long time. 

"Every one of you know the journey, the roler coaster ride, the ups and downs.... but most importantly, to never give up," said Michelle Yeoh in her acceptance speech. 

From the lens of a cultural platform, the popularity and acclaimed recognition of Everything Everywhere All At Once is not only about the very important mass awareness and dialogue of representation and progress in Hollywood — which as we all know is influential globally. In addition to seeing Asian faces on screen, it is the broadening of the content and cultural subject matter in North American films that is also transformative. To have a story that dives into a Chinese-American home and address so many facets of relationships in an immigrant family making ends meet with their laundromat business (husband and wife, mother and daughter, daughter and father, and so on) and look into the dreams and hearts of each of the characters is content that is overdue and yet strikes a chord collectively with many other immigrant families and cultures that are not usually seen on the silver screen. And to have a film with this content set in a multi-verse setting, recognized for its innovation to storytelling and filmmaking by esteemed peers in the industry is why Jamie Lee Curtis’ statement about this being an industry-changing movie is such a fitting proclamation. 

Congratulations to the cast, crew and everyone who supported this film at every level. It’s a win for the world! 

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