Jakarta, IO – Milinka “Millie” Winata, 6, an Indonesian girl who lives in Los Angeles, won various prestigious awards for her acting as Queenie, the main character in the short film ‘Closing Dynasty’.
Her father Wira Winata said he did not expect his decision to send Millie to an immersion school would be the gateway to her entering the US entertainment scene. Millie, who is of Chinese descent, studied three languages, namely Indonesian, English and Mandarin at this school.
“During the pandemic, Millie was videotaped when doing her homework. Then the video fell to one of the commercial producers and was immediately offered ‘do you want to be included in the advert for the photoshoot?,'” said Wira.
After that, Millie received offers to do photoshoots. All of the girl’s achievements are uploaded to her Instagram account @agirlnamedmillie. “The offers come from Disney and others,” added Wira.
Millie’s fame as an advertising star then led her to the world of acting. By accident, the audition video was seen by Lloyd Lee Choi, director of ‘Closing Dynasty’. He said that the main character was initially projected as a boy, but there was no actor who Choi thought was suitable for the role.
“From the start, Millie looked shining. She has a strong charisma that other actors and actresses don’t have,” said Choi. “Millie is unique because she is very professional. She is silly, funny and full of curiosity, but also mature in everyday life. That’s what we want to show.”
According to the Canadian director of South Korean descent, another interesting thing about Millie is that she is able to understand the context of the story and bring the character to life. She also exudes the impression of sadness and melancholy that the film needs.
‘Closing Dynasty’ tells the story of a girl named Queenie who travels around New York City alone to earn money. Choi explained that he made this film based on the experience of SMEs surviving the pandemic.
“Their struggles and difficulties, especially regarding hatred towards Asian Americans,” Choi explained. ‘Closing Dynasty’ is the first film starring Millie. The girl said she had never studied acting before.
“But I loved singing at school,” Millie quipped. During the audition process, Millie said she had to converse in English and Mandarin.
“I’m nervous, I have to practice dialogue. I have to say bad words too, and I also use Mandarin for the dialogue,” explained Millie.
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Even though she has entered the world of entertainment, Wira, who works as an animator with his wife Meliana Winata, never forces their will on Millie. They ensure that every project taken on must be of Millie’s choice.
The short film, which was made in collaboration with various parties, including Netflix, has won a number of awards such as the Berlin International Film Festival and the Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films in the ‘Best Short Film’ category, as well as SXSW 2023 in the ‘Viewer’s Choice’ and ‘Best Narrative Nomination’ categories. (VoA Indonesia/un)
