Hello Ahma

Synopsis

Unable to return home to attend Grandma’s funeral because of immigration bureaucracy, a young Singaporean girl new to America searches for Grandma’s reincarnation in a pet store turtle.

Director Biography

Siyou Tan is a Los Angeles based filmmaker originally from Singapore. Her short film HELLO AHMA was completed under the American Film Institute's Directing Workshop for Women. It premiered at the 44th Toronto International Film Festival, and will be in competition at the upcoming 70th Berlinale. Her previous short 2200 VOLTS was featured in Variety and premiered at the 2018 Singapore International Film Festival. Most recently, she has been selected as a fellow at the Busan International Film Festival’s 2019 Asian Film Academy and the 2019-20 Universal Directors Initiative. She is developing her first feature, AMOEBA, which was awarded the Most Promising Project at the Southeast Asian Film Lab. Siyou is a graduate of Wesleyan University, where she studied film. She is also a fine artist with a printmaking background, and her work as an art director has garnered a Cannes Lion, a Ciclope Award and the Jury Award at SXSW.