Anthony Chen

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In this Chinese name, the family name is Chen.
Anthony Chen
File:Anthony Chen 20191124.jpg
Chen in November 2019
Born (1984-04-18) 18 April 1984 (age 42)
Singapore
Other namesChen Zheyi
Alma materNational Film and Television School[citation needed]
Occupations
  • Film director
  • screenwriter
  • film producer
Years active2005—present
Spouse
Rachel Yan
​
(m. 2009)​
Children1
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese陳哲藝
Simplified Chinese陈哲艺
Hanyu PinyinChén Zhéyì

Anthony Chen (born 18 April 1984) is a Singaporean film director, screenwriter and film producer. He is known for directing the feature films Ilo Ilo (2013) and Wet Season (2019).

His debut feature film, Ilo Ilo, won the Camera d'Or at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, making him the first and only Singaporean to have been awarded at Cannes Film Festival.[1] The film also earned him the Award for Achievement in Directing at the 2013 Asia Pacific Screen Awards,[2] as well as the Golden Horse Award for Best Narrative Feature, Best New Director and Best Original Screenplay.[3]

In June 2023, Chen was invited to become a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.[4]

Early life

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Chen was born 18 April 1984, to Bernard and Joan Tai. Interested in film from a young age, Chen attended Nan Hua Primary School and The Chinese High School.[5] He then attended the School of Film and Media Studies at Ngee Ann Polytechnic.[5] His graduating film from Ngee Ann Polytechnic, G-23 (2005), was screened in various international film festivals and won awards in France, Korea and Belgium.[6]

Career

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Short films

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In 2007 and 2008, Chen went on to direct Ah Ma and Haze respectively. Both attracted favourable criticism.[7] Ah Ma was awarded a Special Mention in the short film competition at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, making it the first Singaporean film to win an award at the festival.

Following his mandatory conscription in the army, Chen was admitted to the National Film and Television School (NFTS) in the United Kingdom. Graduating in 2010, two of his short films, Distance and Lighthouse, were released that year. These were followed up with Karang Guni (2012) and Homesick (2013).[7] The Break Away (2021) is Chen's short film contribution to the anthology The Year Of The Everlasting Storm, selected at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival.[8]

Feature films

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File:Anthony Chen.JPG
Chen in 2013

Ilo Ilo, Chen's first feature film, was released on 29 August 2013 in Singapore theatres.[9] Chen served as director, producer, and writer.[10] According to Chen, the film was inspired by a real life maid who worked for Chen's family when he was a child.[11] After its world debut at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, Ilo Ilo received a 15-minute long "standing ovation" and earned Chen the coveted Camera d'Or.[12] Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong noted Chen's achievement, and congratulated him and the film's cast on Facebook.[13]

On 19 October 2013, Ilo Ilo went on to win the Sutherland Trophy for the Best First Film at the London Film Festival. (The same night, one of Chen's tutors at NFTS, Pawel Pawlikowski, won the Best Film Award for Ida).[14]

With Ilo Ilo, Anthony Chen also made history by becoming the first Singaporean to win Best Narrative Feature and Best Original Screenplay at the 50th Golden Horse Awards, while Yeo Yann Yann won Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film.[15][16] For Ilo Ilo, Chen was named as one of Variety magazine's annual "10 Directors to Watch".[17]

In September 2015, it was announced that Distance, an "omnibus film" for which Chen served as executive producer and writer, will open the 2015 Golden Horse Film Festival in Taiwan. Distance consists of segments by the three directors Xin Yukun, Tan Shijie and Sivaroj Kongsakul, from China, Singapore and Thailand respectively.[18]

In spring 2018, Chen began production on his second feature film, Wet Season, which reunites him with Ilo Ilo stars Yeo Yann Yann and Koh Jia Ler.[19] The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and went on to be nominated for 6 Golden Horse Awards, with Yeo Yann Yann winning her second Golden Horse, for Best Actress.[20][21]

In February 2022, Chen completed his first Chinese feature film, The Breaking Ice. The Breaking Ice was written and directed by Chen, and stars Zhou Dongyu, Liu Haoran, and Qu Chuxiao. According to Variety, this film follows the blossoming relationship among three young adults in their twenties, set over a short few days in the winter snow.[22] The film premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard section.[23]

In March 2022, Chen is set to direct Secret Daughter starring Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Sienna Miller.[24]

Chen's first English-language feature, Drift, premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.[25] It was shot in Greece and stars Cynthia Erivo and Alia Shawkat.[26]

Personal life

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Chen married Rachel Yan, whom he met in London in 2007.[7] Their son was born in August 2018.[27]

Chen and his family have been based in Hong Kong since August 2022.[28][29]

In September 2025, Chen signed an open pledge with Film Workers for Palestine pledging not to work with Israeli film institutions "that are implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people."[30]

Favourite films

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In 2022, Chen participated in the Sight & Sound film poll, which every ten years asks contemporary directors to select the ten greatest films of all time.[31]

Chen's selections were:

Filmography

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As director

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Year Title Notes
2005 G-23 Short film, won the Brussels International Film Festival Emile Cantilon Award
2007 Ah Ma Short film, nominated for the Short Film Palme d'Or
2008 Haze Short film, nominated for Best Short at Berlin International Film Festival
2009 Hotel 66 Short film
2010 Lighthouse Short film
2011 The Reunion Dinner Short film
2012 Karang Guni Short film
2013 Ilo Ilo Winner of Cannes Film Festival Caméra d'Or
2019 Wet Season Nominated for Toronto International Film Festival Platform Prize
2021 The Break Away Part of anthology The Year of the Everlasting Storm;
Nominated for Cannes Film Festival L'Œil d'or
2023 Drift English-language debut
The Breaking Ice Nominated for Cannes Film Festival Un Certain Regard
The Cigarette Short film; as part of anthology 2×25 for Film Fest Ghent's 50th anniversary[32]
TBA Secret Daughter [24]
TBA We Are All Strangers [33]
TBA Sunset Park [34]

As producer

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Year Title Notes
2010 Distance Anthology; executive producer and co-writer
2017 Pop Aye Executive producer[35]
2022 Arnold is a Model Student [36]
Ajoomma [37]
2024 Crocodile Tears [38]
2024 Some Nights I Feel Like Walking [39]
2025 This City Is a Battlefield [40]
2026 Sleep No More [41]
2026 Four Seasons in Java [42]

References

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