While filming Anthony Chen’s new local film We Are All Strangers in 2025, veteran actress Yeo Yann Yann was moved by unexpected generosity.
The 49-year-old told AsiaOne in an interview recently: “We needed a place to rest while filming and my makeup artist just knocked on the residents’ doors randomly.
“An auntie just welcomed us with open arms. Sometimes we would be there overnight and she would prepare food for us and even go to the tastiest stalls to bring us desserts. That is the most non-exchangeable kindness we have met.”
The coffee shop scenes in We Are All Strangers were filmed at Tong Bee Coffee Shop at Jalan Senang.
This wasn’t the only kindness they received. Yann Yann shared that she spoke to a resident and apologised for the disturbance they might have caused while they were filming in the area.
She added: “The residents said it was okay and that they had never seen this before and it was quite interesting. She also told us where she lives and to knock on her door if we needed anything.
“I just melted; it was because of all these acts of kindness from strangers that we could finish this film. I want to thank them.”
Real experiences for real performances
We Are All Strangers, the final film in Anthony’s Growing Up trilogy of Ilo Ilo (2013) and Wet Season (2019), centres on Lim Junyang (Koh Jia Ler) and his hawker father Boon Kiat (Andi Lim), whose lives unravel when Junyang and his girlfriend Lydia (Regene Lim) are forced to confront unexpected adult realities.
Their household core relationship dynamics are further disrupted when Lee Bee Hwa (Yann Yann), a vivacious beer lady, joined their family.
In preparation to play Bee Hwa, Yann Yann had meals and beer with friends at kopitiams, where she would observe the beer ladies at work.
She shared: “I found this similarity between beer ladies and actors. We are both very observant people.
“They know when the customers need more beer, when to bring more, when to talk a little bit, to clean the tables or dry the beer bottles and change the glasses… As actors, part of our job is to observe as well. I think that’s the biggest similarity I’ve found, and I really admire that too.”
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To prepare for their scenes on a public bus, Yann Yann, Andi, Anthony and the director of photography went on a bus ride one afternoon in 2025 during a non-peak hours, just to rehearse the scenes and find the best angles.
“I have to apologise to the passengers the day we were rehearsing on the bus, because we were a bit weird…. We were repeating [the scenes], so if we scared anyone, we apologise,” she laughed.
While the scene with Andi turned out well in the movie, Yann Yann revealed they took two days to film it, and faced various constraints including lighting, traffic, space and of course, the need to use the toilet.
She also explained that to capture the best lighting and speed, there was a lot of coordination needed with the bus driver as well as waiting.
“The scene looks so effortless and simple, but the beauty of it is hard to capture… I just hope that the audience, although I know it’s not fair for them to know that, we actually spent so much effort into doing it. When they see the effortlessness [of the scene], a lot of effort was put behind it to make it look so,” she said.
Looking forward to more collaborations with Anthony Chen
Yann Yann told us it was “bittersweet” working on the finale of the Growing Up trilogy.
She said: “I consider myself very, very lucky that I had the chance to collaborate with a team of people, especially with Anthony. I started working with him when he was filming short films, and it has been 20 years. Every time he gave me a character, he really challenged me.
“I think not many directors see that in me, and he’s one of them that really dares to let me try different types of characters and trust me.”
Describing the 42-year-old local filmmaker as “bak kut teh”, Yann Yann explained he took five to seven years to “brew” a script, thinking through each character thoroughly, before handing them to her.
“I can’t bear to have this trilogy end, but I also think it’s good for us to start having new challenges too. I don’t know if he’s going to start a new trilogy, but I surely hope we will have a chance to have more collaborative work later on.
“I also feel that it’s good for us to go out and get more experience and come back, just like kung fu masters levelling up,” she added.
Yann Yann is also glad to witness 25-year-old Jia Ler’s growth over the years as an actor and saw how he grew into his passion for acting.
She shared: “Just like Jia Ler always says, when he was in Ilo Ilo and Wet Season, he would just repeat whatever Anthony did and said.
“But at this point, he would discuss it with Anthony and me. He would even text me and ask if it is okay to do or try out something. That has never happened before. At this point, I think he finally decided he wanted to be an actor… He wants to be an action star.”
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For Yann Yann’s performance in Ilo Ilo and Wet Season, she was nominated twice at Golden Horse Awards for best supporting actress and best leading actress respectively.
When asked if she expects another nomination this time round, she responded: “I certainly hope we will have a good and high end, you know. But even if we don’t, it’s okay; the high end is definitely a bonus for us.
“When we started Ilo Ilo, the only thought in my head was just to make a great film. I want to portray a believable character that will touch people. That’s always from the bottom of my heart, and that’s why I wanted to make films and these awards are really bonuses.
“If the bonus happens, I’ll be over the moon. But if it doesn’t happen, I also think I did my best to portray a character that would touch people, and I think I did that already.”
We Are All Strangers is now showing in Singapore cinemas.
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yeo.shuhui@asiaone.com
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