“`html
Singapore filmmaker Ang Geck Geck Priscilla took an unconventional path to her feature film debut with “Ah Girl,” spending over a decade developing the project through three short films and multiple festival workshops before committing to the full-length version. The film makes its North American premiere as a Centrepiece selection at the Toronto Film Festival, following successful runs at Rotterdam and Hong Kong, where it earned the Youth Jury Award and other accolades.
The character of Ah Girl originated in Ang’s 2013 short “Broken Crayon,” which launched a trilogy completed by “Little Pigs” and “Happy Birthday.” Rather than viewing these shorts as separate works, Ang describes them as essential preparation for tackling the emotional and financial demands of a feature production. She emphasizes the importance of building foundational skills before attempting more ambitious projects, noting that the shorts allowed her to refine her directorial instincts.
Ang’s script prioritizes the perspective and emotions of her young protagonist over conventional narrative exposition. She deliberately avoids spelling out adult interpretations, instead asking what the child observes and feels during events unfolding around her. The film centers on a painful situation where Ah Girl must choose which parent to live with—a scenario that forces her to shoulder emotional responsibility she should never bear. By setting the story in the 1990s, Ang removes modern communication as an escape option, intensifying feelings of helplessness when parents abandon their duties.
Casting required nearly a year to find newcomer Ong Xuan Jing, who spent three months building rapport through games before formal filming began. Ang resisted depicting either parent as purely villainous, instead portraying two adults struggling to parent before achieving emotional maturity themselves. The production drew support from multiple industry initiatives, including the Southeast Asia Fiction Film Lab and Singapore’s New SG Director Grant.
“`
Originally reported by Variety →
About the Author
