77th Cannes Film Festival: Singaporean Chiang Wei Liang awarded Camera D'Or Special Mention for film Mongrel
Chiang Wei Liang wrote the screenplay and co-directed the film while fellow Singaporean Lai Weijie served as the film's co-producer.
Mongrel, written and co-directed by Singaporean Chiang Wei Liang (right), was selected for the 77th Cannes Film Festival Directors' Fortnight and also awarded the Special Mention Camera d'Or prize. (Photo: E&W Films)
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As the 77th Cannes Film Festival came to a close on Saturday (May 25), Singaporean filmmaker Chiang Wei Liang received a Special Mention Camera d'Or prize for Mongrel, a film he wrote and co-directed.
The Camera d'Or is an esteemed award at Cannes, recognising the best first feature film from any of these three sections: Official Selection, Directors' Fortnight, or Critics' Week. An independent jury presents the award during the festival's closing ceremony.
The Special Mention acknowledges films of exceptional quality that, while not winning the main prize, deserve recognition for their outstanding merit as first feature films.
Mongrel, Chiang's debut feature, premiered in the Directors' Fortnight, a festival segment that highlights short films, feature films, and documentaries from around the globe.
The drama centres around Oom, portrayed by Thai actor Wanlop Rungkumjad. Oom is an undocumented immigrant worker in Taiwan, struggling under the demands of his exploitative boss.
His situation becomes more complicated when he starts helping a mentally handicapped man and his elderly mother, which eventually puts Oom in a difficult position as he is forced to choose between his survival and his principles.
The film is also co-produced by Singaporean producer Lai Weijie, who co-founded film company E&W Films, and has Singaporeans Lim Ting Li and Grace Wong credited as sound editors.
Chiang, Lai, Lim and Wong are all recipients of the Singapore Digital Scholarship by the Infocomm Media Development Authority, which aims to cultivate future leaders in Singapore’s technology and media sectors.
Chiang graduated from Nanyang Technological University with a degree in Communication Studies and earned a Master of Fine Arts in film directing from the Taipei National University of the Arts.
He has been based in Taiwan for the past decade, focusing his work on the migration and diaspora of Southeast Asians in modern Asia.
His other films include Anchorage Prohibited, which received the Audi Short Film Award at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival in 2016, and other short films such as Luzon, Nyi Ma Lay and Only The Mountain Remains, which competed at the 76th Venice Film Festival in 2019. His films consistently address the challenges faced by migrants.
