"Operation Red Sea" will represent China's Hong Kong Special Administration Region to compete for the Best Foreign Language Film honor at the 91st Academy Awards, the film's official Sina Weibo account announced on Monday.
The film's director Dante Lam said on Weibo that he felt honored that the film is gaining recognition, and thanked the crew and everyone's support.
The story of "Operation Red Sea" was adapted from an evacuation operation carried out in 2015, when the People's Liberation Army Navy sent a warship to war-battered Yemen and relocated nearly 600 Chinese citizens.
Dante Lam, the director of "Operation Red Sea". /VCG Photo
The film, released in February, has raked in 3.65 billion yuan (532 million US dollars) and occupied the top spot in China's film market so far in 2018, only second to "Wolf Warrior 2," the top-grossing film of all time in China.
"Operation Red Sea" has won many domestic awards, including the award for Best Feature Film at the 14th Changchun Film Festival, Best Visual Effects at the 2018 Beijing International Film Festival, and Best Film at the 25th Beijing College Student Film Festival.
This time, the military blockbuster will compete with 10 other foreign language films across the world, including "Shoplifters" from Japan, "Burning" from South Korea, and "Memoir of Pain" from France.
(Cover: A poster of the film "Operation Red Sea." /VCG Photo)