Ang Geck Geck plans Ah Girl trilogy: “Waiting for Ong Xuan Jing to turn 17”

Singapore director Ang Geck Geck, 38, attended a press conference and premiere for her debut feature, Ah Girl, at the Capitol Theatre on 2 November. Joining her for interviews with local media were two first-time child actors, 10-year-old Ong Xuan Jing, who was seven during filming, and seven-year-old Sydney Wong, who was four during filming, as well as James Seah and Carrie Wong, who play their parents.

The film recently won Best Asian Feature Film at the 37th Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF). Having picked up multiple awards on the international festival circuit over the past year, including in Rotterdam, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Udine and Toronto, Ang was delighted that Ah Girl had finally “come home” to meet local audiences. The heartfelt Singapore film also earned three nominations at the 63rd Golden Horse Awards. Ong Xuan Jing stands a strong chance of bringing home the Best New Performer award, which Singapore last won through Megan Zheng for Homerun in 2003.

Told through a child’s eyes, Ah Girl depicts family breakdown and trauma in the 1990s, drawing on Ang’s own childhood. The film took more than ten years to bring to the screen, and Ang formed close bonds with the crew and the two child actors.

At the press conference, the director revealed plans to turn Ah Girl into a trilogy spanning several decades. Ang said: “My trilogy will be different from Anthony Chen’s ‘Growing Up’ trilogy. He uses the same actors in three separate stories, whereas mine will be a continuing story. When Ong Xuan Jing turns 17, I’ll make the second film to reflect that stage of her life. When she’s a 40-year-old woman, I can make the third one. Ha ha.”

With the film featuring emotionally intense scenes involving a broken family, emotional blackmail and abandonment, another focus was how the team protected the child actors’ emotional well-being and ensured the experience would not leave lasting scars.

At the press conference, the two child actors could not recall many details of filming three years earlier. They were able to return immediately to their carefree selves once the cameras stopped rolling. Ang shared how the creative team had approached protecting them during the shoot.

“Before filming began, we held a month-long intensive workshop. While shooting in Malaysia, the team also often took the children to McDonald’s. Spending time together in everyday life helped us grow closer and build the kind of trust a family has. We also kept reminding them that acting and real life are different.”

On set, the director and actors tried to avoid putting pressure on the children. Many scenes were improvised, with filming guided as far as possible by their natural responses. The crew put the children’s psychological well-being first, making sure they understood that they were simply playing and acting, so that negative emotions would not stay with them.

Wong, who makes her big-screen debut as the mother, was also playing a mother for the first time. She described filming as an unforgettable experience. Ah Girl is set in 1994, the year she was born, which felt to her like a “calling” from fate. Stepping outside her comfort zone and learning alongside the child actors also gave her fresh insights.

“Neither child had acting experience, but their performances were sincere, pure and completely unguarded. After so many years in the industry, watching them reminded me to rediscover that most instinctive expression of emotion.” However, some scenes in which she had to scold the children harshly were heartbreaking to film. At one point, she had to step aside to catch her breath and cry, so deeply did she empathise with the characters’ situation. “No child should have to bear that kind of pressure.”

Seah, who plays the father, said he too was born in the 1990s. His character appears distant, but deep down cares deeply for his children. The pressures of life at the time drove him to make wrong decisions in order to survive.

While Seah was working out how to play the father, the director happened to show him a handsome photograph of her own father. It immediately helped him understand how to portray the character.

He added: “The film examines the effects of transgenerational trauma in depth. It makes us reflect on how parents’ trauma can be passed on to the next generation without anyone realising it. People today have a responsibility to consider whether to stop that cycle of trauma.”

The film’s premiere followed the press conference. Guests included President Tharman Shanmugaratnam’s wife Jane Ittogi, and Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information and Health Tan Kiat How. Other artistes in attendance included Zheng Geping, Hong Huifang, Yeo Yann Yann, Andi Lim, Yang Yan, Irene Ang and Lim Yu-Beng.

Ah Girl opens in Singapore on 19 November. Lianhe Zaobao is the film’s official publicity media partner.