Award-winning Singapore film Ah Girl gives a voice to children who grew up feeling unheard

Ah Girl has won numerous awards, including at the International Film Festival Rotterdam and the Singapore International Film Festival. Its director Ang Geck Geck Priscilla reflects on the decade-long journey and the personal experiences that shaped the film.

(Clockwise from top left) Ah Girl executive producer Yuni Hadi, director Ang Geck Geck Priscilla, producer Charlyn Ng, actress Carrie Wong who plays Mummy, actress Ong Xuan Jing who plays Ah Girl, actor James Seah who plays Ah Pa, and actress Sydney Wong who plays Ah Tian. (Photo: CJ & Yukee)

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A young girl growing up in Singapore trying to make sense of her parents' separation and their messy lives might sound like a familiar story to many who grew up here.

But Singapore filmmaker Ang Geck Geck Priscilla has turned that seemingly simple premise into a deeply personal story about childhood, family and the desire to be seen, heard and loved by the adults closest to us.

Her debut feature, Ah Girl, follows a seven-year-old girl navigating her parents' separation in 1990s Singapore, while trying to understand emotions she is too young to put into words.

The film stars 10-year-old Ong Xuan Jing as Ah Girl; seven-year-old Sydney Wong as her younger sister Ah Tian; Carrie Wong and James Seah as their parents; and Doreen Toh as the grandmother who helps care for them.

After travelling to film festivals around the world, including Rotterdam and Toronto, Ah Girl is coming home. At a press conference on Monday (Nov 2), Ang and the cast reflected on the film's journey, which began more than a decade ago.

The film won the Youth Jury Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam earlier this year and, most recently, Best Film in the Asian Feature Film Competition at the 37th Singapore International Film Festival's Silver Screen Awards on Oct 31.

It has also received three nominations at the Golden Horse Awards , including Best New Director for Ang and Best New Performer for Ong, who was seven when she filmed the movie.

Ang found the SGIFF win especially meaningful as she developed Ah Girl at the festival's Southeast Asian Film Lab in 2015.

"Bringing it back to Singapore feels especially emotional," she said at the press conference. "This is where the story began, and where SGIFF also first helped nurture it through its film lab in 2015.

"To return with the completed film and the Best Asian Feature Film award feels like coming full circle."

A 'SIMPLE' STORY THAT TOOK OVER A DECADE TO TELL

The director, producer and cast members of Ah Girl during the gala premiere on Nov 2, 2026. (Photo: CJ & Yukee)

Ang first began developing the character while studying at Nanyang Technological University's School of Art, Design and Media. She subsequently explored the character through short films, including her 2012 award-winning short Broken Crayon, before working towards a feature-length production.

"A lot of people told us that this story is too simple – it's just about a young girl in Singapore," producer Charlyn Ng added at the press conference.

As it was Ang's first feature film, securing financing was also difficult as she had yet to build her reputation. The filmmaker eventually had to put much of her own money into the production while continuing to work on commercial projects and other jobs.

The project also suffered a major setback when a producer who had been expected to help bring it into production withdrew after Ang had waited around two years.

"The experience brought up feelings of abandonment that I realised I had carried since my childhood," Ang said while speaking separately to CNA Lifestyle. "I went into a very dark hole."

However, still determined to make the film, Ang returned to the script and began consulting family counsellors and child psychologists to better understand how children experience their parents' separation.

"I went to see a few counsellors – family counsellors and also child psychologists – just to find similar case studies and see how I could improve the script," she said. "But I surprised myself because I was the one who ended up getting counselled."

Ang, who grew up with divorced parents, said the sessions helped her recognise feelings and patterns she had not previously understood. It was also through counselling that she began to understand why she had felt such a strong need to tell Ah Girl's story.

"I realised why I wrote this script; it's my story that I really want to tell," she told CNA Lifestyle. "And through counselling and constant reworking, the script transformed from something dark into something hopeful – and it was healing for me."

GIVING A VOICE TO CHILDREN WHO FELT UNHEARD

Director Ang Geck Geck Priscilla at the Ah Girl press conference event on Nov 2, 2026. (Photo: CJ & Yukee)

Ang recalled feeling that adults did not always take children's feelings seriously, even when those children were deeply affected by the decisions being made around them.

"When I was young, I felt like the adults never took the kids very seriously," she said. "There were a lot of things I wanted to tell my parents, but I couldn't."

It was this desire to give children a voice that eventually drew her towards filmmaking.

Ah Girl's story is also about the lasting effects of childhood experiences and the possibility of breaking away from them.

"We cannot change what happened when we were little, but we can choose what we carry forward and what we do not want to repeat," Ang said.

James Seah, who plays Ah Girl's father, also saw the film as an exploration of how family experiences can shape future generations.

"It's about intergenerational trauma," he said. "What you observe as a kid, from your parents growing up, it sort of creates who you are growing up, and their trauma might pass down to you as well."

Seah explained that although his character may appear distant from his children, he is also struggling with his own circumstances and trying to survive.

Carrie Wong, who plays Ah Girl's mother, added that the film marked her first appearance on the big screen after a decade in television. She said the role was unlike those she had previously played and required her to step outside her comfort zone.

The film's 1994 setting also held a personal connection for Wong: It was the year she was born.

Meanwhile, Ong Xuan Jing, who plays the titular character, said she hoped the film would touch audiences' hearts.

A QUINTESSENTIALLY SINGAPORE STORY

Despite its distinctly Singaporean setting, Ah Girl continues to move audiences abroad.

Set in 1990s Singapore, the film draws on familiar details of the period, from the influence of Japanese pop culture on Singaporean Chinese families to the everyday experiences of children growing up in local HDB homes.

"Ah Girl's search for her own identity reflects a Singapore that was similarly negotiating its cultural influences and sense of self," Ang told CNA Lifestyle.

What surprised Ang is how viewers from different countries have connected with the film, even when they do not understand its language or cultural references.

At screenings around the world, audience members approached her to say that they recognised their own childhoods in Ah Girl's experiences.

"They recognise that feeling of being a child who just wants to be seen, heard and loved," Ang said. "Everyone wants to be heard and seen, and validated by their parents, right? When we were children, I think that emotion is very universal."

Ah Girl will continue to make appearances in film festivals, including in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The film will be released in Singapore cinemas on Nov 19.

A single handpicked story that we think you shouldn't miss. Just one a day.

《阿妹》荣获多项大奖，包括鹿特丹国际电影节和新加坡国际电影节的奖项。导演洪玉洁回顾了长达十年的拍摄历程以及塑造这部电影的个人经历。

（从左上角顺时针方向）《阿妹》执行制片人尤妮·哈迪、导演洪洁洁、制片人吴卓羲、饰演木乃伊的演员黄思敏、饰演阿妹的演员王璇京、饰演阿爸的演员谢家华、以及饰演阿天的演员黄思敏。（图片：CJ & Yukee）

这段音频由人工智能工具生成。

对于许多在新加坡长大的人来说，一个在新加坡长大的年轻女孩努力理解父母的分离和他们混乱的生活，这可能听起来像是一个熟悉的故事。

但新加坡电影人洪玉洁将这个看似简单的前提，变成了一个关于童年、家庭以及渴望被我们最亲近的成年人看见、听见和爱的深刻的个人故事。

她的处女作《啊，女孩》讲述了一个七岁女孩在 20 世纪 90 年代的新加坡，面对父母分居，努力理解她年纪太小而无法用语言表达的情感的故事。

该片由 10 岁的王璇静饰演阿妹；7 岁的黄思远饰演她的妹妹阿天；黄嘉莉和谢家华饰演他们的父母；杜君玲饰演照顾他们的祖母。

在参加了包括鹿特丹和多伦多在内的世界各地电影节之后，《新女孩》终于回到了家乡。在周一（11月2日）的新闻发布会上，导演李安和演员们回顾了这部电影十多年前的拍摄历程。

该片于今年早些时候在鹿特丹国际电影节上荣获青年评审团奖，最近又于 10 月 31 日在新加坡第 37 届国际电影节银幕奖亚洲故事片竞赛单元中荣获最佳影片奖。

该片还获得了金马奖三项提名，包括最佳新导演奖（Ang）和最佳新人奖（Ong），Ong在拍摄这部电影时年仅7岁。

Ang 认为 SGIFF ​​的获奖意义非凡，因为她在 2015 年正是在该电影节的东南亚电影实验室里创作了《Ah Girl》。

“将这部影片带回新加坡，让我格外激动，”她在新闻发布会上说。“故事就是从这里开始的，新加坡国际电影节也是在2015年通过其电影实验室首次帮助培育了这部影片。”

“带着完成的电影和最佳亚洲故事片奖凯旋而归，感觉就像完成了一个轮回。”

一个看似简单的故事，却花了十多年才讲完

2026年11月2日，《啊，女孩》的导演、制片人和演员们出席了盛大的首映礼。（图片：CJ & Yukee）

Ang在南洋理工大学艺术、设计与媒体学院学习期间，开始构思这个角色。随后，她通过短片探索这个角色，包括她2012年获奖的短片《断蜡笔》，之后才着手制作一部长篇电影。

制片人 Charlyn Ng 在新闻发布会上补充道：“很多人告诉我们，这个故事太简单了——它只是关于新加坡的一个年轻女孩。”

由于这是李安的第一部剧情长片，而且她当时还没有建立起自己的声誉，所以筹集资金也十分困难。这位电影人最终不得不投入大量自有资金进行制作，同时还要继续参与商业项目和其他工作。

该项目还遭遇了重大挫折，一位原本有望帮助该项目投入制作的制片人在Ang等待了大约两年后退出了。

“这段经历唤起了我从童年起就一直背负的被遗弃感，”Ang在接受CNA Lifestyle单独采访时说道。“我陷入了非常黑暗的深渊。”

然而，安仍然决心要拍这部电影，他重新审视了剧本，并开始咨询​​家庭顾问和儿童心理学家，以更好地了解孩子们是如何经历父母分离的。

“我去咨询了几位心理咨询师——家庭咨询师和儿童心理学家——只是想找一些类似的案例，看看如何改进剧本，”她说。“但令我惊讶的是，最后接受咨询的竟然是我自己。”

安从小在离异家庭长大，她说这些咨询帮助她认识到自己以前不理解的感受和行为模式。也是通过咨询，她开始明白为什么自己如此强烈地想要讲述阿妹的故事。

“我意识到我为什么写这个剧本；这是我真正想讲述的故事，”她告诉CNA Lifestyle。“通过咨询和不断修改，剧本从黑暗走向了充满希望——这对我来说也是一种治愈。”

让那些感觉不被倾听的孩子们发出自己的声音

2026年11月2日，导演Ang Geck Geck和Priscilla出席了《Ah Girl》的新闻发布会。（图片：CJ & Yukee）

Ang回忆说，他感觉成年人并不总是认真对待孩子的感受，即使这些孩子深受周围所做决定的影响。

“我小时候觉得大人从来不把小孩子当回事，”她说。“我有很多话想跟父母说，但却说不出口。”

正是这种想要让孩子们发出声音的愿望，最终将她引向了电影制作。

《阿妹》的故事也讲述了童年经历的持久影响以及摆脱这些影响的可能性。

“我们无法改变小时候发生的事情，但我们可以选择哪些事情要传承下去，哪些事情我们不想重蹈覆辙，”Ang说道。

饰演阿女父亲的詹姆斯·西也认为这部电影探讨了家庭经历如何塑造后代。

“这关乎代际创伤，”他说。“你小时候从父母的成长经历中观察到的一切，某种程度上塑造了你成长为什么样的人，而他们的创伤也可能传递给你。”

Seah解释说，虽然他的性格可能看起来与孩子们疏远，但他也在努力应对自己的处境，努力生存下去。

饰演女主角母亲的黄思敏表示，这部电影是她出演电视剧十年后首次登上大银幕。她说，这个角色与她以往的角色截然不同，需要她走出舒适区。

这部电影的背景设定在 1994 年，这对黄阿丽来说也有着特殊的个人意义：那一年正是她出生的年份。

与此同时，饰演女主角的王璇京表示，她希望这部电影能够触动观众的心。

一个典型的新加坡故事

尽管《阿妹》的故事背景设定在新加坡，但它依然感动着海外的观众。

这部电影以 20 世纪 90 年代的新加坡为背景，取材于那个时代的熟悉细节，从日本流行文化对新加坡华人家庭的影响，到孩子们在当地组屋中成长的日常经历。

“阿妹寻找自我身份的经历反映了当时的新加坡也在努力应对文化影响和自我认知的问题，”Ang告诉CNA Lifestyle。

令Ang感到惊讶的是，来自不同国家的观众即使不理解电影中的语言或文化典故，也能与这部电影产生共鸣。

在世界各地的放映会上，观众纷纷上前告诉她，他们在《阿妹》的经历中看到了自己童年的影子。

“他们能体会到那种孩童时期渴望被关注、被倾听、被爱的感觉，”安格说。“每个人都渴望被父母倾听、被关注、被认可，对吧？我觉得我们小时候都有这种感觉，非常普遍。”

《阿妹》将继续在各大电影节亮相，包括印尼日惹的电影节。该片将于11月19日在新加坡影院上映。

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