Singaporean film producer Anthony Chen won the Camérad'Or at the Cannes Film Festival for twelve years and began making "We Are All Strangers", the third and final film in his highly acclaimed "Growth" trilogy.

The project reunited with actors Yeo Yann Yann and Koh Jia Ler, who starred in two episodes before the trilogy, 2013’s “Ilo Ilo” and 2019’s “Wet Season.” Located in contemporary Singapore, the film spans two and a half years and is Chan’s most ambitious work – an epic story that captures the intimate moments of love, life and age in the city-state.

“I filmed Jia Ler at 11 and then filmed again at 17, so capture him a natural step towards adulthood,” Chen said of his ongoing collaboration with young actors.

The director explained his theme focus: “I have always been fascinated by the bonds and intimate connections struck between strangers and how kinship can develop beyond blood ties. The idea of​​ constructed families is a theme I have explored in both of my films. In 'Ilo Ilo,' it was between the Filipino maid and the young Singaporean boy she cares for, while in 'Wet Season,' a teacher and her student form a Family unit with her half-paralysed father-in-law this time, strangers are forced to become families."

Yeo won the Golden Horse Award for his previous films (Best Actress in "Ilo Ilo" and Best Actress in "Wet Season"), and recently appeared in the Netflix action movie "Havoc", along with Tom Hardy and Forest Whitaker. Koh received two Golden Horse nominations for his work in Chan's early films.

"We're All Strangers" was produced by Chen and Teoh Yi Peng through his Singapore production company Giraffe Pictures and was supported by Singapore Film Council and MPA APSA Academy Film Food. The main photography is currently in Singapore and is scheduled to be completed by the end of May.

Since his breakthrough, Chen has built various resumes. Following “Ilo Ilo” and “Wet Season” (both of which represented Singapore as official submissions for the Academy Awards), he made his English-language debut with “Drift,” starring Cynthia Erivo, which premiered at Sundance in 2023. That same year, his first Chinese-language feature “The Breaking Ice” premiered in Un Certain Regard at Cannes and became Singapore's Oscar submission.

As a producer through his Giraffe Pictures banner, Chen has nursed other Asian filmmakers' work, including Kirsten Tan's Sundance winner “Pop Aye” (2017), He Shuming's “Ajoomma” (2022), Sorayos Prapapan's “Arnold Is a Model Student” (2022), Neo Sora's “Happyend” (2024), and Tumpal Tampubolon's “Crocodile Tears” (2024).

Founded by Chen and producer Huang Wenhong, Giraffe Pictures positioned itself as “the home of emerging Asian filmmakers” with the goal of becoming “an international record label that is the best film in Asia, with a focus on film creativity and vision, telling unique stories of Asians, telling unique Asian stories that will resonate with audiences around the world.”