Anthony Chen tells a soulful story of marriage and fatherhood in contemporary Singapore. Lim Boon Kiat (Andi Lim) is an aging, unmarried restaurant owner eyeing waitress Bee Hwa (Yeo Yann Yann) for a wife. Lim’s son Junyang (Koh Jia Ler) is at loose ends as his military service comes to an end; all he knows is that he loves Lydia (Regene Lim) and wants a life of comfort. When both men get hitched, economic hardship forces all four under the same roof, and that’s only the start of their troubles…
We Are All Strangers is a long, hard look at poverty and the desperation it engenders. The human cost of financial hardship comes through in every scene, and the performers make it especially resonant: the years of struggle seem etched into Lim’s face, and Yeo expresses her exhaustion discreetly but unmistakably. This is a work attuned to the power of hope and the bitterness of defeat, as well as the sacrifices of older generations and the promise of newer ones.
Media Partner
Community Partner
Yeo Yann Yann, Koh Jia Ler, Andi Lim, Regene Lim
Singapore
2026
In Mandarin and English with English subtitles
At International Village & Lindsay Family Stage at Granville Island
At The Park
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
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Credits & Director
Executive Producer
Joe Tsai, Arthur Wang, KH Kuok
Producer
Anthony Chen
Screenwriter
Anthony Chen
Cinematography
Teoh Gay Hian
Editor
Hoping Chen
Production Design
Huang Mei-Ching
Original Music
Kin Leonn, Thomas Foguenne
Anthony Chen
Anthony Chen is a director, screenwriter, and producer born 1984 in Singapore. He first gained international attention with his debut feature Ilo Ilo (2013), which won the Caméra d’Or at Cannes and four Golden Horse Awards, along with over 40 other prizes. His second feature Wet Season (2019) premiered at TIFF, his English-language debut Drift (2023) premiered in Sundance, and The Breaking Ice (2023) premiered in Un Certain Regard at Cannes. We Are All Strangers (2026) completes Chen’s Singapore “Growing Up” trilogy and is the first Singaporean film to be selected for the Berlinale competition.
Filmography: Wet Season (2019); The Year of The Everlasting Storm (The Break Away) (2021); Drift (2023); The Breaking Ice (2023)
Photo by Giraffe Pictures
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