Singapore director whose debut won rare honour at Cannes hopes film brings change for migrant workers

  • 📰 TODAYonline
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 88 sec. here
  • 4 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 41%
  • Publisher: 99%

Cannes Film Festival News

Migrant Worker

SINGAPORE — A painful family incident back in 2017 fuelled an interest in the plight of migrant workers for Singaporean director Chiang Wei Liang whose debut film on the issue just won global recognition at the Cannes Film Festival in France.

Singapore director whose debut won rare honour at Cannes hopes film brings change for migrant workers

Unable to find the keys in his family home or his grandparents' home in the same housing block, Chiang rushed to his aunt's home while another relative headed to the nearby market to find a locksmith.Although she was relied on to take care of my uncle who had suffered a stroke before, she was not trusted enough to own a set of keys. And that lack of trust had consequences.

Later, while back in Taiwan working on a film, Chiang met a group of migrant workers moonlighting as caregivers for the old in the rural areas of Taiwan. The sombre film not only premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in France last month — it was also awarded the Camera d’Or Special Mention. Although Mongrel may be the first Singapore film to get a special mention, Chiang admitted that his first reaction to learning of the award was concern about where to get outfits at short notice for his parents who were attending the ceremony.Singaporean director Chiang Wei Liang and Taiwanese director You Qiao Yin posing for a photo after they won the Camera d'Or Special Mention for the film Mongrel at the 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 25, 2024.

After the incident, filming resumed — capturing the raw emotions of the emergency medical technicians as they acted out a scene that almost mirrored the real-world drama that had played out minutes earlier. When it came to casting, Chiang, Lai and co-producer Elizabeth Wijaya, 40, a Singapore permanent resident, said that they wanted the role of Hui, the handicapped man cared for by Oom, to be acted by a person with disabilities.

Despite his lack of acting experience, he quickly picked up some techniques from an acting coach on set.

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.
We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 1. in ENTERTAİNMENT

Entertainment Entertainment Latest News, Entertainment Entertainment Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Music Picks: Concerts by Kitaro and Hwasa, Tokyo: The City Of Music And Love performanceJapanese musician-composer Kitaro last performed in Singapore in 2017.
Source: The Straits Times - 🏆 8. / 63 Read more »