Dante Lam, the director of "Operation Red Sea" (VCG PHOTO) 

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 September 24. 

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.

The film, released in February, has raked in 3.65 billion yuan ($532 million) 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. 

(CGTN.com September 25, 2018)