Anthony Chen

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 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 Singaporean to be awarded at Cannes Film Festival. The film also earned him Achievement in Directing at the 7th Asia Pacific Screen Awards, as well as Best Narrative Feature, Best New Director and Best Original Screenplay at the 50th Golden Horse Awards.

In June 2023, Chen was invited to join the Directors Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Early life 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. He then attended the School of Film and Media Studies at Ngee Ann Polytechnic.

Career

Short films In 2007 and 2008, Chen went on to direct Ah Ma and Haze respectively. Both attracted favourable criticism. 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).

Feature films

Ilo Ilo, Chen's first feature film, was released on 29 August 2013 in Singapore theatres. Chen served as director, producer, and writer. According to Chen, the film was inspired by a real life maid who worked for Chen's family when he was a child. 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. Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong noted Chen's achievement, and congratulated him and the film's cast on Facebook.

On 19 October 2013, Ilo Ilo went on to win the Sutherland Trophy for Best First Feature at the 57th BFI London Film Festival. (The same night, one of Chen's tutors at NFTS, Paweł Pawlikowski, won the Best Film Award for Ida).

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. For Ilo Ilo, Chen was named as one of Variety magazine's annual "10 Directors to Watch".

In 2015, Chen's Distance, an "omnibus film" for which Chen served as executive producer and writer, opened the 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.

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. The film premiered at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival and went on to be nominated for six Golden Horse Awards, with Yeo winning her second Golden Horse, for Best Leading Actress.

In February 2022, Chen completed his first Chinese feature film, The Breaking Ice. The film 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. The film premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard section.

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

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

In February 2026, Chen's fifth feature film, We Are All Strangers, had its world premiere in the main competition of the 76th Berlin International Film Festival.

Personal life Chen married Rachel Yan, whom he met in London in 2007.

Chen and his family have been based in Hong Kong since August 2022.

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."

Favourite films 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.

Chen's selections were:

A Brighter Summer Day (1991) The 400 Blows (1959) Tokyo Story (1953) Citizen Kane (1941) Mirror (1975) Close-up (1989) Kes (1969) In the Mood for Love (2000) Pather Panchali (1955) Burning (2018)

Filmography

Feature films

Short films Year TitleNotes 2005 G-23 Won the Brussels International Film Festival Emile Cantilon Award 2007 Ah Ma Nominated for the Short Film Palme d'Or 2008 Haze Nominated for the Short Film Golden Bear 2009 Hotel 66 2010 Lighthouse 2011 The Reunion Dinner 2012 Karang Guni 2021 The Break Away Part of anthology The Year of the Everlasting Storm2023 The CigarettePart of anthology 2×25 for Film Fest Ghent's 50th anniversary

Only producer Year TitleNotes 2010 Distance Anthology; executive producer and co-writer 2017 Pop AyeExecutive producer 2022 Arnold is a Model Student Ajoomma 2024 Crocodile Tears Some Nights I Feel Like Walking 2025 This City Is a Battlefield 2026 Sleep No More Four Seasons in Java