Next month CNN Ones to Watch shines a light on the next big names in film, with Singapore playing a starring role. 

The programme opens at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, with young Singaporean director Kirsten Tan taking her first steps towards the famous red carpet. Born and raised in Singapore, Tan has lived and worked in Thailand, South Korea and New York and has written and directed short films in each country. She was invited to Cannes to meet producers and financiers to help get her first feature film off the ground.

Anthony Chen, who won Singapore’s first ever film honours at Cannes when he took home the prestigious Camera d’Or in 2013, chooses Tan as his One to Watch.

Chen said, “I’ve admired her for a long, long time. I think she has a very unique eye, great visuals and I like her sensibility and tone. I think that’s something quite rare from our part of the world in South East Asia, that black humour. I see that, not just in one film but something that’s recurring in a lot of films. I think that if she can keep on and maintain that sensibility that unique quality in her feature film I think she will go very, very far.”