Wet Season

Wet Season
Singapore | 2019 | 103’ | DCP | Colour | Mandarin, English | Group: C
Director: Anthony Chen

Anthony Chen made a name for himself with his first film, Ilo Ilo, winning the Camera D’or in Cannes and the Golden Horse Award for Best Film in 2013. His second film, Wet Season does not disappoint. Chen has crafted an elegant and powerful film exploring the female condition, never resorting to showy dramatic sequences, but delicately allowing the audience to engage with the complex day to day lives of his characters. Reunited with the terrific Yeo Yann Yann and Koh Jie Ler, who played mother and son in Ilo Ilo, the film explores the politics of relationships, both personal and professional. Yeo once again shines brightly as Ling, her character embodying the struggle of many women in Asia – burdened by responsibilities, isolated in a loveless marriage, monitored in every move of her social conduct. Wet Season presents a portrait of Singapore in contemporary times, where finding a connection with another person could endanger your entire life.

– Lorna Tee

It is monsoon season in Singapore and the city is pouring with rain. Ling, a Chinese language teacher, finds her marriage and school life falling apart because she is unable to bear a child. But an unlikely friendship with a student helps her reaffirm her identity as a woman.

Anthony Chen is a writer-director and producer from Singapore. He started film school at the young age of 17 to pursue his passion in filmmaking. He was trained in Singapore and then at the National Film and Television School, UK, and his shorts have screened and been awarded at numerous prestigious festivals including Cannes, Berlin, Rotterdam, Busan, London, Sydney, Melbourne, and Chicago. He is best known for his debut feature Ilo Ilo which premiered at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival and was awarded the Camera d’Or. The film went on to win forty awards internationally, including the Sutherland Award at BFI London Film Festival, and four Golden Horse Awards at the 50th Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan. He is now based in London, UK where he lives with his wife and son.