《Welcome to Dragon Restaurant》Select Oscars, Wen Muye talks about chefs in war

 —Welcome to the Dragon Restaurant—will represent Mainland China in the competition for the Best International Film Award at the 99th Academy Awards.The film studio announced the news on October 7. The film will also continue to expand its overseas distribution and will be distributed in North America by Well Go USA Entertainment on October 9.

What is announced this time is the optional delivery arrangement.The short list for the best international film is planned to be released on December 15, 2026, and the five official nominations will be announced on January 21, 2027. The 99th Academy Awards ceremony is scheduled to be held on March 14, 2027.

The film was released in mainland China on August 11. As of noon on October 7, the cumulative box office exceeded 2.356 billion yuan.Since September, it has been released in Hong Kong and Macao, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Singapore.

As international distribution unfolds, Wen Muye also talked about chef Xu Fu in the film.The story is set against the backdrop of the 2003 Iraq War. Xu Fu, played by Shen Teng, comes from Shenyang and goes to the Middle East to take over a job as a restaurant chef. Initially, he wanted to use his salary to pay off his family's debts.When the war broke out, he woke up from his sleep and ran to the air raid shelter; a man who originally traveled far to make money suddenly had to face a life beyond his control.Wen Muye said that the overall background seems grand, but for ordinary people within it, it is a concrete problem.When creating, he first considered how the war would affect the person at each moment, and then arranged the plot.

The choice of Shen Teng to play Xu Fu took into account not only the character's Northeastern background and image of a middle-aged chef, but also his sense of humor.Wen Muye feels that Shen Teng's comedy performance ability can bring some levity to heavy themes, but the fit between the actor and the character itself is the primary reason for casting.

Restaurant manager Ma Junsheng, played by Xu Fu and Jiang Qiming, rebuilds a poorly managed restaurant.After the war spread to the city, the restaurant took in people trapped in the war.It was originally a place of work and later became a refuge; at the end of the story, the old Xu Fu returns and sees that the restaurant is still there.Wen Muye regards this change as an expression of peace in the film.

Xu Fu cared more about himself at first and regarded the war as someone else's problem.Ma Junsheng died trying to save a child who was forced by terrorists, which changed his situation and actions.When talking about the two people's choices, Wen Muye believed that they were driven by human nature and instinct. When he wrote the characters, he did not first provide each person with a set of answers about responsibility.To get into the shoes of these characters, the team interviewed local chefs, laborers from different professions, and residents who had experienced the war during the preparatory stage.

Wen Muye said that war and peace are of course the themes of the movie, but always writing characters with preset themes will cause problems in creation.

Other characters also have their own origins.Omar Sharif plays Saif, an Iraqi Kurdish orphan who later becomes Xu Fu's apprentice; Li Zhiting plays Tony, a Chinese soldier in the US military; Sharif Sobhi plays Zaid, a civil servant and restaurant shareholder, who is driven by the war to seek revenge.

The script was written by Wen Muye, Lang Qunli and Zhong Wei, with Ning Hao serving as the producer.Zhong Wei has collaborated with Wen Muye in "I'm Not the God of Medicine" - Miracle·Stupid Kid; Wen Muye joined Ning Hao's %Bad Monkey 72 Transformation Film Project in 2016. He previously studied under Tian Zhuangzhuang at the Beijing Film Academy and won the 2018 Golden Horse Award for Best New Director for "I'm Not the God of Medicine".