WE ARE ALL STRANGERS World Cinema

WE ARE ALL STRANGERS

Thirteen years in the making, WE ARE ALL STRANGERS serves as the ambitious concluding chapter of Anthony Chen’s (ILO ILO, WET SEASON) Growing Up trilogy, reuniting him with frequent collaborators Yeo Yann Yann and Koh Jia Ler. The first-ever Singaporean film to be selected for the Berlinale Main Competition, Chen’s perceptive lens finds poetry and beauty in everyday life, setting its opening moments at an unassuming yet bustling food market where hawker Boon Kiat (Andi Lim in a modest, emotionally tender turn) serves up Hokkien shrimp noodles, while neighboring bar waitress Bee Hwa (a charismatic Yeo Yann Yann) banters with her Tiger Beer-drunk patrons for tips. Kiat’s 18-year-old son Junyang (Koh Jia Ler) dreams of a future with his girlfriend Lydia (Regene Lim), a budding pianist from a middle-class home, as they navigate a temporary separation during his compulsory military service in the Singapore Army. Unexpected news comes, setting in motion the serendipitous ensemble under one roof, as dreams turn into responsibilities and the promise of a better future is tested by the crushing reality of economic survival. Under Chen’s keen eye for the lyrical and cinematographer Teoh Gay Hian’s vibrant mise-en-scene, time expands and compresses with hefty, earnest melodrama as the minutiae of mundanity and domesticity coalesce into a panoramic tableau and love letter to working class Singapore. –Anna Li

Anthony Chen is an award-winning writer, director and producer and a pivotal figure in Singapore cinema. His work is recognized for its humanistic storytelling and emotional depth. His debut feature film, ILO ILO, won the Camera d’Or at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, making him the first Singaporean to receive an award at the festival. His other acclaimed works include WET SEASON (2019), DRIFT (2023) and THE BREAKING ICE (2023).  

Erin Farrell
Film Movement
erin@filmmovement.com

MEMBERS & PASSHOLDERS

Screenings

October 22, 12:00 p.m.

Chinese 6

October 25, 8:00 p.m.

Chinese 5

Details

Country: Singapore

Year: 2026

Director: Anthony Chen

Screenwriter: Anthony Chen

Producer: Anthony Chen

Executive Producers: Joe Tsai, Arthur Wang, KH Kuok

Director of Photography: Teoh Gay Hian

Editor: Hoping Chen

Production Designer: Huang Mei-Ching

Costume Designer: Huang Mei-Ching

Music: Kin Leonn, Thomas Foguenne

Cast/Featuring: Yeo Yann Yann, Koh Jia Ler, Andi Lim, Regene Lim

Running Time (minutes): 157

Languages: Mandarin, English

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