Ah Girl Opens Jakarta Film Week 2026 with a Journey Back to Childhood
Jakarta Film Week 2026 officially opened on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, at CGV Grand Indonesia, Sudirman. To kick off one of Indonesia’s major film festivals, Ah Girl, the debut feature film by Singaporean filmmaker Ang Geck Geck Priscilla, was screened in two theaters simultaneously.
Set in 1990s Singapore, this 2026 coming-of-age family drama follows seven-year-old Swee Swee (Ong Xuan Jing). Over its approximately 99-minute runtime, audiences follow Swee Swee, affectionately called “Ah Girl” by her family, as she navigates her childhood while caught in the middle of her parents’ divorce. All she wants is to experience life as an innocent little girl.
Ah Girl does not face her family’s struggles alone. She is accompanied by her five-year-old younger brother, Ah Tian. Together, the two children become the audience’s window into their family’s ups and downs, often providing moments of both humor and sadness.
Throughout the screening, audiences were entertained by Ah Girl and Ah Tian as they navigated an increasingly unstable home environment. Irony and humor become some of the film’s strongest elements, largely driven by the children’s innocence.
In several scenes, their parents are seen arguing or dealing with problems alongside their grandmother. Through the eyes of children, however, the context behind these conflicts remains unclear. Instead, Ah Girl and Ah Tian remain absorbed in their own little world. At times, they even imitate the words and gestures of their parents and grandmother, no matter how harsh the language or behavior may be.
Beyond the home, audiences also follow Ah Girl through her experiences at school, from a childhood romance with a fellow student to selling chewing gum to help support her family. At school, Ah Girl becomes the center of attention and discovers another side of life where she can express herself more freely, away from the confines of her family situation.
Ah Girl’s story is not entirely fictional. Ang Geck Geck Priscilla drew inspiration from her own childhood to shape the film’s narrative. Its lighthearted and entertaining tone also marks a departure from her typically serious and dark directorial style, which can be seen in her short films made before Ah Girl.
Since its release, Ah Girl has traveled to several international film festivals. It premiered at the 55th International Film Festival Rotterdam as part of the Bright Future program, which showcases debut films, and went on to win the Youth Jury Award. Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Canada were among its next destinations before the film finally arrived in Jakarta.
Ah Girl received a warm welcome from audiences on the opening day of Jakarta Film Week 2026. Ah Girl’s story and antics won over viewers throughout the screening, keeping them entertained from beginning to end.
“I really loved following Ah Girl’s journey throughout the film. Seeing life through a child’s eyes was really interesting, and I loved it. It was funny, but at the same time, heartbreaking,” said Zahra and Kuma, two audience members who shared their thoughts after the screening.
As the festival’s opening film, Ah Girl does not rely on intense sequences or emotionally demanding storytelling. Instead, it offers audiences a window into their own childhood memories, allowing them to rediscover the lightness of being a child. It becomes a welcome escape from the demands of adult life.
Ang Geck Geck Priscilla hopes Ah Girl can show that anyone can move beyond the difficult experiences of their younger years and grow into something better. Hardships from the past do not have to determine the course of a person’s life. For Ah Girl, those difficult moments are simply part of her childhood memories, perhaps marked by the instability at home, but still representing the only childhood she will ever have.
Written by Iqbal Baskari