TIFF 2026: Ah Girl | Interview with Ang Geck Geck Priscilla

Premiering at the 55th International Film Festival Rotterdam, Ah Girl, directed by Ang Geck Geck Priscilla, tells a tender and deeply personal story rooted in the director’s childhood. Set in 1994, this coming-of-age story follows seven-year-old Ah Girl, played by Ong Xuan Jing, who delivers a powerful, charming performance as she quickly learns to grow up. Ah Girl’s parents are separated; she lives with her younger sister Ah Tian (Sydney Wong), her father (James Seah), and her grandmother (Doreen Toh), and enjoys visiting her mother (Carrie Wong) on the weekends. Her mother asks Ah Girl whether she wants to live with her and have a bigger home. Told through Ah Girl’s perspective, her life becomes complicated as she journeys to understand what family means and where she belongs.

Ah Girl expands on Ang Geck Geck Priscilla’s 2012 short Broken Crayons and made its North American premiere at TIFF 2026, where it is featured in both the Centerpiece program and the TIFF Next Wave Selects lineup. Speaking with the director, she opens up about delivering audiences a richly emotional, heartfelt story in her feature film debut.

I wanted to tell a story from a child’s perspective, […] and I want adults to know that children are very sensitive […] and most importantly, the child needs to be heard and seen.

Kristin Ciliberto (KC): Why did you want to tell the story? Ah Girl expands on your short film Broken Crayon. Why did you want this project to be your directorial feature film debut?

Ang Geck Geck Priscilla (AGGP): After my first short film, I was sure I wanted to make this my first feature film. I think it’s always important to tell a story from the deepest part of your heart, even when it’s hard to express. I’ve carried this film, Ah Girl, with me all along, and I wanted to share it. As a young kid, I felt like adults didn’t take me very seriously, especially my parents. I wanted to tell a story from a child’s perspective, and one I could also tell adults and parents. I can empower children; I can empower a girl; I can, and I want adults to know that children are very sensitive and can be very sensible at a young age, and that they should be treated the same. Of course, adults should still be responsible for the child, and most importantly, the child needs to be heard and seen.

KC: I know this was inspired by your own childhood. I have to ask, has your family seen the film? And I was wondering if you could share their thoughts.

AGGP: They haven’t seen it yet. That’s why it hasn’t been released in Singapore yet. Honestly, I don’t know how my parents will react. I have told a few of them. You know, something happened during the shoot, and I had to change location. I ended up in my mother’s scene, like the mother scene in my father’s house. They had been separated for a long time, and my father never knew what happened to my mother because I was always, you know, going to my mom’s place sometimes over the weekend. When I wrote the story, he didn’t read the script, and I dressed up his whole place into my mom’s house. Then he saw it, and he would pass by sometime because he was outside. He would have me direct the film, but he didn’t know what was going on. He had an idea and started to understand what was going on. I don’t really speak to my father much because, after I reached a certain age, after I became a teenager, he didn’t see me as much; he hardly sees me at all. So we didn’t really talk to each other. When I asked him to help me, even though it was very last minute, he agreed, and I changed his house into my mom’s house. There was some communication, so I was able to reconnect with my father because of this film.

KC: I really want to get into the cast of this film because I really enjoyed the performances, especially the two young girls that we see. The performances I saw were so heartfelt, Ah Girl and her sister. What was the casting process like, and what qualities made them the right fit for the roles?

AGGP: Okay, it’s a long process.

KC: I’m sure.

AGGP: It took one year to do the casting, and I was very hands-on. I was in the audition room, watching every little kid coming into the room because I think acting is so important to know whether you have this, like, connection with the kids as well. It’s the same whether it’s adults or children, because I work with these kids as my collaborators. You know, I see them as equals. And when the moment Ah Tien, the little girl, came in, oh my gosh, she was so cute. You just fell in love with her. After seeing so many kids, she’s just so special. And I knew she was the one I wanted. But of course, for Ah Girl, it’s a bit more emotionally intense for me. I really have to take my time to select the right one. So, I did a workshop for 12 to 13 shortlisted kids. I brought them all together because, for kids, groups are better than one-to-one; they’re less intimidating, and kids can learn from one another. There’s also, like, a small competition. So, for the workshop, I wanted them to play and have fun in a safe environment. All these keywords are important when I put them together, and all of them are first-time acting, so I kind of like working with them and then first-time, so-called like being or acting; rather, I’m performing, doing acting, yes. And then, as I slowly eliminate and then narrow it down to the final two through the workshop, I can also observe and see how the kids interact because ultimately, I’m going to choose two kids to come together to act as siblings, right? So, I learned about each of their characters and then slowly moved on to the final two. Then we did an activity together and went outside without the mother, so the mother could trust me and the kids could trust me. At the end of the day, when they were all on set, they felt safe with me, and they could perform and be themselves. I think building a safe environment where they can be themselves is very important. When I say “be themselves,” I mean the kids I choose are more or less close to the character in the film. They don’t really need to act. As I slowly got to know them, it felt like building their quirks into the script. So, as collaborators, they aren’t working for me. We are together for this film. And to me, it’s always about their welfare, their safety, and building a safe, fun environment for them, because that’s the intention. The intention must be very clear. It’s not for the film; it’s really why I want to make this film at the end of the day. How are the kids? You must always put the kids’ welfare first, and then everything will come naturally. I mean, of course, there are challenges that come along the way that we must solve. But as long as we know the purpose, we know the steps to move forward. I also helped build a range of emotions for them by doing two different activities, because I learned about them. After all, the script requires a certain range. So they may not have that in their life experience because they’re young.

KC: But they were both just natural in the film. They were just wonderful to watch. I felt personally connected to them. I felt so many emotions every time they cried. I just wanted to pick them up, hug them, and be like, oh, everything’s going to be okay. They were just very delicate performances. But I also want to get into the parents because they were flawed and complex. What was it like casting those roles and figuring out who could bring that right emotional depth to the film?

AGGP: I think because the film is always shot from the kids’ perspective. What’s important is what we see from the kids and understand from the kids’ perspective. Because at the end, what the film is trying to deliver is that we want the adult to understand what the kid is thinking. So, the challenge is that when we build our parents, we can only see what the kids actually see. Then, to have more layers of that, that’s the part where I think I always must build subtle props and whatever to, you know, show that. For example, you see the father actually owes a lot of money because the paint you can see is very subtle; it’s not on your face. The way he handled money, you know that he doesn’t have money. This is the stuff we need to show, but it cannot be too much on your face as well. Because that is the kid trying to understand slowly what the parents are actually facing. And then a girl who wants to be loved always tries to help the parents so that, at the end of the day, the parents will love her the way she wanted to be loved.

KC: I also want to go back to what you were saying from the child’s perspective. The film has a warm, melancholic visual style. What techniques did you use to keep audiences connected to her point of view?

AGGP: So the other part is art direction. I spent quite a bit of time talking with my art director and wardrobe stylist about the colors and building a set that makes the color pop while still capturing the 90s look. After that, of course, the cinematography needs to sell that feel, too. So the mother is always dressed in red and pink; if you notice, the father is always… and Ah Girl is in red too. The little sister is always in blue. So then you realize, as the film unfolds slowly, Ah Girl, deep inside her, as she is more slow to it, like she really knows she actually likes the mom more than the father. But she didn’t want to do that. So, you know, the child is wearing red shoes. Slowly, you know, she’s getting closer to the father. It’s like the father starts to go farther away, and then she becomes closer to the father. The color she’s wearing starts to change too: it was a bit more blue, but there’s still red in it. Finally, she’s wearing purple, but she is purple. She has part of her mom’s influence and part of her father’s influence. But purple is what she is. She becomes what she wants to become, and she’s purple.

At the end of the day, we can’t choose our parents, but we can always choose ourselves.

KC: What was the most challenging and emotional scene that you captured?

AGGP: I don’t know because I wrote the film 12 years ago, and I’ve been creating it so many times. When I went on set, I was also doing a double role. I was wearing a producer cap and a director cap at the same time. When I’m shooting the film, sometimes I cannot feel anything anymore. So, honestly, the most emotional scene isn’t in the film. I didn’t put it in the film. It’s actually the ending. We have a lot of things for the film, but in the end, we didn’t include that ending, which I really felt for. It’s an ending where we see Ah Girl grow up, become an adult, and come back home. But it’s not in the film.

KC: I love the ending that you chose for the film. As we wrap up, thank you for sharing a beautiful, very personal story. What do you hope audiences take away after seeing your film?

AGGP: Actually, there are many things. I think one thing I keep repeating is that, at the end of the day, we can’t choose our parents, but we can always choose ourselves. It’s what we want to look forward to and what we want to let go of, and we always have a choice: we can always choose ourselves.

KC: What does your film need to have its North American premiere at TIFF?

AGGP: I’m honored to be selected. I got selected for TIFF because my film has screened at many festivals, and I know TIFF always looks for more world or international premieres. When they chose Ah Girl, I was so happy because it means a lot to me, and it says a lot.

The 51st edition of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) runs September 10–20, 2026