Documentary Twenty Two made official consideration list for this year’s Oscars

Twenty Two, a Chinese documentary on “comfort women,” has made the official consideration list for this year’s Oscars, which included a total of 170 films from across the world.

The film, featuring 22 women who were forced into sexual slavery by Japan during World War II, became a hit after its mainland debut in August this year.

As of Oct. 13, the movie received more than 5.5 million views on the Chinese mainland, with box office revenue topping 171 million yuan, a record high for a Chinese documentary.

Twenty Two also scored 8.9 out of 10 points on Douban, a popular movie rating platform in China, higher than 80 percent of its peers in the same category.

Huang Youliang, one of the protagonists in Twenty Two, died on Aug. 12, just two days before the film debuted. Among the 22 women featured in the documentary, 14 have passed away since 2014. Huang is also the last victim to have attempted to sue the Japanese government over sexual slavery on the Chinese mainland.

Many Chinese are excited about the news, and hope the documentary receives an Oscar in commemoration of the late victims.