Shooting A Coming Of Age Story From A Child's Perspective: Ang Geck Geck Priscilla, dir. of AH GIRL (2026)

If you are staying up till 1030 pm to talk with me from Milan, Italy, well, I'm going to be grateful no matter what.But even better if your film is truly exceptional. My guest, Ang Geck Geck Priscilla, director of AH GIRL (2026), which premiered at Rotterdam and now screens at the Toronto International Film Festival next month, made a fantastic coming of age story from a child's perspective, cinematically. She wrote a semi-autobiographical story -- 70-80% true -- that her parents haven't even seen. And she's a Singaporean filmmaker making waves at huge festivals in ways that, if we're being blunt, we don't usually see.But she didn't want to play the comparison game; she doesn't care about all that. She wants to tell her own story. I'm absolutely here for it, and if you're at TIFF, you should be there, too. What a great talent in director Ang Geck Geck Priscilla.Ang and I talk about:how she describes the film and how much is true to life (70-80%);a coming of age story that she hasn't even shown her parents!;why she cast good looking people as her parents;shooting the film from a child's perspective;how she knew she'd become a filmmaker;why she cut the film to 99 minutes, including a wedding scene that I really want to see!;the genre of films that are tackling this coming of age, especially from an Asian perspective (e.g. LEFT-HANDED GIRL; A GIRL UNKNOWN);her thoughts on distribution;filmmaking in Singapore and the lack of theatrical opportunities;expectations coming out of screening at TIFF;what's next for her.Ang's Indie Film Highlights: WE ARE ALL STRANGERS (2026) dir. by Anthony Chen (a fellow Singaporean and also playing at TIFF); THE VIOLINIST (2026) dir. by Ervin Han & Raul GarciaMemorable Quotes:" The small part that is not real is actually the message that I want to tell my parents."" My producer would tell me about this film, and then they will start comparing. I honestly, I don't really care."" I'm really happy to be able to tell a Singapore story because I think as Singaporean, a lot of people always say we don't have our own identity."" I'm writing a psychological horror film next. I love horror."Links:Follow Ang Geck Geck Priscilla On InstagramFollow AH GIRL On Instagram