Title: AH GIRL
Director: Ang Geck Geck Priscilla
Country: Singapore
Year: 2026
Cast: Ong Xuan Jing, Sydney Wong, Doreen Toh, James Seah, Carrie Wong
Runtime: 99 minutes
Languages: Mandarin, English and Hokkien
Subtitles: English
Format: Colour
Rating: Not Yet Rated
TIFF Status: Centrepiece / North American Premiere
Set in Singapore in 1994, Ah Girl follows seven-year-old Ah Girl as she begins primary school while trying to understand the complicated reality of her fractured family. Directed by Ang Geck Geck Priscilla, the film offers an intimate and emotionally honest look at divorce, childhood, financial hardship and the difficult situations children are often forced to navigate.
Ah Girl lives in a small flat with her five-year-old younger sister, Ah Tian, her quiet father, who works night shifts, and her irritable grandmother, who is primarily responsible for looking after the children. Her mother lives separately and sees the girls on weekends, often spoiling them with food and toys.
The family’s already complicated situation becomes even more difficult when Ah Girl’s mother asks her to choose whether she wants to live with her. Although Ah Girl desperately wants to make her mother happy, the decision weighs heavily on her. Choosing her mother could mean leaving behind her father and younger sister once her mother has a new home.
For a seven-year-old, this is an enormous burden.
As the story unfolds over the course of a year, Ah Girl becomes increasingly aware that her family is different from those around her. While she tries to fit in at school, the problems at home continue to follow her. Her parents begin new relationships, money becomes increasingly tight, accidents happen, and questions arise about whether Ah Tian may eventually have to live somewhere else.
There are moments of happiness, childhood mischief and genuine warmth, but they are constantly balanced against an underlying sense of uncertainty. Ah Girl can feel that something is changing, even when the adults around her do not fully explain what is happening.
That childlike perspective is one of the film’s greatest strengths.
Ah Girl
- Director: Ang Geck Geck
- Starring: Xuan Jing Ong, Sydney Wong, Carrie Wong, James Seah, Doreen Toh
- Genre: Drama
- Runtime: 99 mins
- User Rating: ★ 7
Director Ang Geck Geck Priscilla presents the story through Ah Girl’s eyes, allowing the audience to experience the confusion of adult problems from the perspective of a child who is simply trying to understand the world around her. Ah Girl does not always openly express what she is thinking, but it is clear that she sees far more than the adults realize.
She watches her parents, worries about her sister and tries to carry on being a normal seven-year-old despite circumstances that are anything but normal.
Ah Girl does not feel like a polished Hollywood family drama, and that is precisely what makes it so effective. The film embraces a more grounded and realistic approach, refusing to shy away from the sadness, tension and chaos that can accompany family separation. Rather than turning these experiences into melodrama, the story finds emotion in the everyday moments of family life.
The film also understands that children can be deeply affected by decisions they have no control over. Ah Girl is caught between her parents while simultaneously trying to protect her relationship with her sister and hold onto whatever sense of normality she can find.
The performances are another major highlight. Xuan Jing Ong, who plays Ah Girl, delivers a remarkably natural and moving performance, capturing the character’s curiosity, vulnerability and growing awareness. Sydney Wong, as five-year-old Ah Tian, is equally impressive. Together, the two young performers create a believable sibling relationship that gives the film much of its emotional heart.
Carrie Wong, who plays Mummy and James Seah, who plays Kwee (Daddy), are pivotal to the story as they display a lack of caring for their kids. At one point, Kwee even tries to sell or give away the youngest child to get money to pay his debts. Mummy isn’t much better, as she shows a lack of caring when her children are around; she’s more worried about her new boyfriend’s feelings.
Across its 90-plus-minute running time, Ah Girl gradually builds a portrait of a young girl being forced to grow up faster than she should. Yet beneath the difficult circumstances, there is still a sense of childhood: moments of play, troublemaking, affection and discovery.
Ultimately, Ah Girl is a touching and realistic family drama about divorce, childhood and the emotional consequences of adult decisions. By telling this story from a child’s point of view, Ang Geck Geck Priscilla creates a film that feels intimate and deeply human.
It is a story about a young girl trying to make sense of a complicated world, and doing her best to remain a child while everything around her is changing.
