Regardless of the results at Sunday’s ceremony, the 2023 Oscars made history for Asian representation, largely on the strength of “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”
With four actors of Asian descent nominated, this year’s 95th Academy Awards have the most Asian representation ever, and “Everything Everywhere All at Once” — starring Michelle Yeoh as a Chinese immigrant — is a favorite for best picture.
The nominations mark long-overdue progress for Hollywood’s recognition of Asian-led films, says Zhen Zhang, the director of NYU’s Asian Film & Media Initiative.
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“There have been many Asian and Asian-American actors, … cinematographers, writers and so on trying to break into the industry and go to the top, but it has been a long trek, a very hard struggle,” Zhang told the Daily News.
“In many ways, it’s a defining moment of what I consider the new American-Asian wave. Every time such an Asian film comes into public view and gets a lot of buzz and accolades, crossing over into the mainstream, there’s progress.”
“Everything Everywhere All at Once,” an indie drama-comedy depicting a high-stakes adventure across alternate dimensions — leads all films at Sunday’s Oscars with 11 nominations.
Yeoh is up for best actress, making her the first Asian-identifying woman of Asian descent to be nominated in the category. The late Merle Oberon, who had Sri Lankan heritage, was nominated in 1936 but never revealed her ancestry publicly. Yeoh would be the first Malaysian actor to win an Oscar, according to ActionNetwork.com.
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Co-star Ke Huy Quan, who plays the husband of Yeoh’s character, would become the second Asian performer to be named best supporting actor. Cambodian-born Haing S. Ngor was the first, winning for “The Killing Fields” in 1985.
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