Pop Aye, directed by local director Kirsten Tan, will be the first Singaporean film to compete at Sundance Film Festival 2017. The film started the World Cinema Dramatic Competition on the first day of the prestigious American festival.
The film revolves round the central character named Pop Aye, who follows an architect and his elephant as they travel across Thailand in search of the farm they grew up on. Tan has shot the entire film in Thailand with Thai actors and crew.
Tan, who is currently based in New York, lived in Bangkok during her early 20s, running a T-shirt store in a street market. It gave her basic fluency in Thai to communicate with her cast and crew.
On Friday, Pop Aye was premiered to a full-house at the Egyptian Theatre in Park City, Utah. The audience was moved to tears after watching the film while some were pretty happy with its fun elements.
"I am completely overwhelmed by the reception and the reactions to the film," the 31-year-old director told The New Paper.
