When Yee Wei Chai first got hooked on Star Wars, winning the world's first George Lucas Award in honor of short films was the furthest thought from his mind.

A big fan of the sci-fi film series, the Singaporean filmmaker said he could not find words to describe how he felt at receiving the honor at this year's Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia. Now, his film is eligible for nomination at next year's Academy Awards.

(Singaporean filmmaker Yee Wei Chai)

The George Lucas Award, which is the festival's top or Grand Prix award, came as a birthday gift for him as he turned 42 on June 21, just days after the award ceremony in Tokyo in mid-June.

"This was totally unexpected...this moment is very surreal," Chai said in an interview shortly after the announcement.

His winning piece, "Benjamin's Last Day at Katong Swimming Complex," is a 15-minute story recalling a man's childhood memories from the swimming pool and captures a moment depicting the boy's sexual awakening.

The cinematic piece has undertones of what Chai recognizes as a "sensitive" issue in Singapore, referring to the issues facing the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community there.

Addressing LGBT issues was not exactly his main goal, he says. "When I was making it, I didn't think of it as trying to break any mold," he said.

"I was really trying to just tell a story of a moment that I feel that everyone of us has at least once in their life, a moment of epiphany, a moment of awakening, of realizing who you are and how you fit in the world," Chai said.

In his acceptance speech, a visibly emotional Chai acknowledged that tackling LGBT issues is a tricky prospect in Singapore and thanked all those who supported his story idea.

"In Singapore, LGBT as a subject is considered sensitive for the government as they are worried that the society is not ready to accept such lifestyles," Chai said.

Reflecting also on the struggle of selling a film about LGBT to a mass audience, Chai only hopes that the award would change that.

The director said people should "maintain discussions about such issues and not shy away from them even if they are difficult to address," and that by doing so, "it will help to cultivate a more mature and compassionate society."

One of the judges, Linda Olszewski, put it into context: "When we saw this film, (it) was filled with so much heart, so much soul...We were reminded of the recent Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film...'A Fantastic Woman.' We thought if that filmmaker had made a short film, it would have been this short film."

"A Fantastic Woman" follows the story of Marina, a transgender woman and her struggle to deal with the death of her loved one.

Holding his trophy, Chai said that he had "wanted to capture this moment in this little boy's life and sort of hopefully everyone can share that moment."

Asked his thoughts about his work being compared with an Oscar-winning film, Chai said he is "honored" to be referenced in that way, but he was simply telling a story from emotions he wanted to evoke: holding on to memories as evidence of a fading past.¥

The protagonist, a man named Benjamin, visits the swimming pool he used to play in after learning the place is to be torn down.

"There's this thing about when places are closing down you start to see a lot of people go and only when they hear the news that it's going to close down...Once this place is gone, in a way, the evidence of your memory is all gone," he said.

Chai recalled how there used to be many public swimming pools in Singapore but they have been closing down in recent years.

Knowing that making short films -- or any film for that matter -- is not lucrative in Singapore, where the market is Hollywood centric, filmmakers continue to struggle to make their mark in the industry.

Chai began work as an entrepreneur struggling to operate a Japanese restaurant. He had to keep himself afloat by making corporate as well as wedding videos.

Around the time when his business turned around, the thought of giving filmmaking a try crossed his mind. He began with short films, which eventually led to making feature films.

His career path seems to reflect that of Lucas, who also made short films during his student days. Lucas' films were screened in 1999 when the film festival opened.

Lucas has since lent his support to the event, the brainchild of Japanese actor Tetsuya Bessho who saw the potential and depth of short films, which can convey profound messages in short periods lasting from one minute to half an hour.

In a message to the festival on the occasion of the 20th anniversary, Lucas said, "Thinking back on the beginnings of this fantastic film festival, my short film acted as an invitation to my first steps as a filmmaker."

He added, "Everybody has a beginning. We will always support those beginnings. May the short film be with you!"

Asked about following the path of Lucas, Chai said with a laugh, "All I can say is I've got Star Wars on laser disc, the extended edition and the normal edition laser disc. I've got it on DVD, I've got it on Blu-ray and I've got it on iTunes. I'm a big Star Wars fan. I really like Star Wars very much."

"I think I've always been fascinated by the art of technology and filmmaking," he said, describing Lucas's films as a "crossroads between technology and art."

Citing the likes of Lucas, James Cameron and Steven Spielberg, he said he hopes he could someday make a film that incorporates all these elements.