Oscars: Singapore Selects 'Apprentice' for Foreign-Language Category

Written and directed by Boo Junfeng, the death-penalty drama screened in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes.

Boo Junfeng's Apprentice has been selected as Singapore's entry in the best foreign-language film category at the Oscars.

The drama, which Junfeng also wrote, tells the story of a young prison officer who is apprenticed for the job of carrying out executions in Singapore, but whose own father was sentenced to death for a murder he didn't commit.

Starring Firdaus Rahman and Wan Hanafi Su, the film examines the death penalty from the point of view of the executioner.

Apprentice premiered at Cannes this year, where it appeared in the Un Certain Regard section. It is a co-production between Singapore, Germany, France, Hong Kong and Qatar.

Singapore has never been nominated for the foreign-language film Oscar.