Singaporean Filmmaker's Debut Feature Captivates Global Audiences

In the past year, Singaporean filmmaker Tan Siyou has been on a whirlwind journey with her debut feature film Amoeba. The coming-of-age drama, which premiered in the Discovery section of the Toronto International Film Festival last year, has since screened at prestigious festivals around the world, including Busan and Pingyao.

At the Pingyao Film Festival, Amoeba scooped up three awards, including the Best Actress prize for Ranice Tay's performance. The film has also been nominated for Best New Director at Taiwan's Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards, with several other festival screenings expected later this year.

Set in an authoritarian girls' school in Singapore, Amoeba follows a teenage misfit and her friends as they navigate the strict rules and conformity of their educational institution. The girls' attempts to form their own "gang" and explore their budding desires for one another offer a nuanced critique of Singaporean society's emphasis on Confucian values and capitalist productivity.

Tan, who grew up in Singapore before moving to Los Angeles, says she wanted to unpack the "Chinese-ness of Singapore" and the country's blend of Confucianism and capitalism that has led to its conservative nature. The film's mix of English and Chinese dialogue also reflects the multicultural reality of life in the city-state.