AMOEBA
2025, 99 minutes, Singapore/The Netherlands/France/Spain/South Korea, 1.66:1, Color, 5.1 Sound, in English and Mandarin with English subtitles
Sales/Festivals: Diversion
Synopsis:
In Singapore, school dropout Choo (16) returns to her elite all-girls Chinese school to join the graduating
class. Her little acts of rebellion towards her tyrannical teachers attract the admiration of three other
misfits—Vanessa, Gina and Sofia. She’s drawn to them too and confides about the ghost in her room. The
new friends’ idea: using Sofia’s camcorder to evidence the ghost.
The four form an inseparable group, and meet an unlikely kindred spirit—Sofia’s family driver, Uncle Phoon
(70). Inspired by his stories about the triad gangs that ruled the streets of colonial Singapore and defied the
authorities openly, they decided to form a gang. But how do you form a gang in modern Singapore, where
even chewing gum is illegal?
Director's Statement (excerpt)
This film started from a desire to investigate a story I told myself when I was a teenager—that I was an
amoeba. I felt disconnected from my family, school and the society I lived in, and withdrew to survive. To my
childish mind, the amoeba—sexless, mindless and alone—was like me, swimming in its own sea.
Growing up, cheerful songs and Good Citizen classes valourized the myth of a sleepy fishing village turned
into a modern metropolis. Singapore is a tiny island without natural resources. This was national scripture
drilled into us: that the citizens were the key to the nation’s survival. As a young person in school, the
education system felt like a training camp. Even the size of my watch and the colour of my bra was policed.
And so, to “come-of-age” in this society is not a process of self-discovery, it’s learning to lose your
individuality and accept the group identity.
About the Director:
Tan Siyou is a Los Angeles based filmmaker originally from Singapore. Siyou’s short films COLD CUT (2024), STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE (2021) and HELLO AHMA (2019) premiered at festivals such as Cannes, Berlinale, Toronto, Locarno, among others. She is an alumna of Berlinale’s Talents Tokyo, Busan’s Asian Film Academy and Universal’s Director Initiative. She studied film and art at Wesleyan University, before going on to a directing fellowship at the American Film Institute. Her debut feature film, AMOEBA, will premiere at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival.
