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Paradise City Sales is set to represent internationally “We Are All Strangers,” Singaporean filmmaker Anthony Chen‘s third and final film in his acclaimed “Growing Up” trilogy. The film is currently in post-production.
After “Ilo Ilo,” which won Cannes’ Camera d’Or for best first film, and “Wet Season,” “We Are All Strangers” is a portrait of modern day Singapore and is an epic story highlighting class inequalities and revisiting the definition of family.
Here’s a first still of the film:
The film reteams Paradise City Sales and Chen. Beyond handling international sales on “Ilo Ilo” and “Wet Season,” the Paris-based company also produced Chen’s English-language feature “Drift,” starring Cynthia Erivo and Alia Shawkat which premiered at Sundance.
“We Are All Strangers” brings back the acting duo Yeo Yann Yann and Koh Jia Ler, whose performances in “Ilo Ilo” and “Wet Season” earned critical laurels. Yeo Yann Yann won the Golden Horse Award for best supporting actress for “Ilo Ilo” and best actress for “Wet Season,” while Koh Jia Ler was nominated twice at the awards.
“Returning to complete my Singapore ‘Growing Up’ trilogy with Yeo Yann Yann and Koh Jia Ler is a profoundly personal journey. These are actors I have collaborated with over 13 years,” said Chen. “Through these films, we’ve grown together; our 11-year-old young boy has grown up, and I have grown older. And in many ways, his transformation mirrors the heart of these stories: how we become strangers to who we were, and how we find our way back again.”
“We Are All Strangers” is written and directed by Chen, and is produced through his Singapore-based production company Giraffe Pictures.
“It’s such a joy to work again with Anthony as he brings his ‘Growing Up’ trilogy to a close. We’ve loved being part of this decade-long adventure and witnessing both his growth as a director and the extraordinary evolution of his amazing actors,” Paradise City Sales said in a statement. “It’s a rare cinematographical feat to capture the passage of time in people and in a place with such warmth and beauty and we can’t wait for the world to share laughter and tears as they discover this wonderfully tender last installment,” the company continued.
Chen became the first Singaporean filmmaker to win the Caméra d’Or at Cannes with “Ilo Ilo” which went on to garner more than 40 international awards worldwide. His second feature, “Wet Season,” premiered at Toronto and received multiple Golden Horse Awards nominations. His recent work includes the Sundance film “Drift” and “The Breaking Ice” which played at Un Certain Regard at Cannes.
His new project is backed by the Singapore Film Commission, the Red Sea Fund and the MPA APSA Academy Film Fund. Executive Producers are Joe Tsai, Arthur Wang and KH Kuok. Paradise City is selling all territories excluding Mainland China, Singapore and Malaysia. China’s Rediance will handle distribution in Mainland China.
“We Are All Strangers” joins Paradise City Sales’ busy slate which includes “Tell Me Everything” which will compete at Sundance; Laurent Micheli’s social thriller “Nino in Paradise” which will screen at Unifrance’s Paris Rendez-Vous and was part of Tallinn Black Nights Critics’ Pick Competition. Post-production titles include Martin Provost’s romantic comedy “Love Lessons,” Judith Godrèche’s “A Girl’s Story” and Warwick Thornton’s “Wolfram.”
English (US) ·