Director Ang Geck Geck Priscilla’s ‘Ah Girl’ Grows From Short Film Roots to Toronto Spotlight

Singaporean filmmaker Ang Geck Geck Priscilla spent over ten years developing her feature debut, “Ah Girl,” before finally shooting the film. The movie made its North American premiere as a Centrepiece selection at the Toronto International Film Festival, following successful runs at the International Film Festival Rotterdam and the Hong Kong International Film Festival.

The story of Ah Girl originated in Ang’s 2013 short film “Broken Crayon,” which won best short film at the Singapore Short Film Festival and launched a trilogy that included “Little Pigs” and “Happy Birthday.” Although Ang envisioned a feature from the start, she felt it was essential to prepare for the creative, financial, and emotional demands of the format. “We can’t fly without first learning how to walk,” Ang explained, noting that the short films served as her training ground for the feature.

Ang adopted a narrative perspective grounded in childhood experience, deliberately withholding adult contextualization to reflect what the protagonist actually perceives. She emphasized that children often observe more than adults assume, stating her goal was to challenge viewers to understand the world through Ah Girl’s eyes rather than dictating what the audience should feel.

The narrative centers on a seven-year-old girl forced to choose which parent to live with, a scenario Ang describes as an unfair emotional burden. She highlighted the distinction between asking a child what they want and addressing what they actually need, criticizing the tendency of adults to seek validation from children rather than support them.

Set in the 1990s, the film uses the era’s lack of instant communication to amplify the protagonist’s sense of helplessness when a parent departs. Casting proved to be a critical component of this realism; after a year-long search, Ang selected newcomer Ong Xuan Jing. Rather than traditional line rehearsals, Ong spent three months building rapport with Ang to capture the authenticity of the character.

Ang also avoided framing either parent as a villain, portraying them instead as individuals who became parents before achieving emotional maturity. She noted that loving a child and knowing how to care for one are distinct capabilities.

The project benefited from significant industry support, including the Open SEA Fund Award at the Southeast Asia Fiction Film Lab, work-in-progress slots at the Golden Horse Film Project Promotion and the Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum, and development assistance from Focus Asia at the Far East Film Festival. Producers include Aggregate Films, IFA Media, and Kusu Films, with additional backing from the Infocomm Media Development Authority Singapore’s New SG Director Grant and the Purin Film Fund. Hoping Chen, a Golden Horse Award-winning editor, handled post-production.

Since its debut at Rotterdam, where it won the Youth Jury Award, “Ah Girl” has screened across Melbourne, Hong Kong, Udine, Innsbruck, Shanghai, Munich, Da Nang, Bucheon, and Malaysia. The film has garnered accolades including the Golden Firebird Award for best actress in a Chinese-language film at Hong Kong, as well as best actress and New Hope Awards at the Malaysia International Film Festival. Ang reported that audiences from diverse cultural backgrounds have connected deeply with the protagonist’s experiences.

Looking ahead, Ang envisions a trilogy tracking Ah Girl through adolescence and middle age, potentially with the same cast aging alongside the role. In the interim, she is returning to her 2013 short “Broken Crayon” to produce a psychological horror feature. “Ah Girl hasn’t left me,” Ang said. “I’m just letting her grow up a little while I go and scare some people first.”