SCFF 2025 Film Review: DAUGHTER'S DAUGHTER

“It Was Supposed to Be a Comedy!”

 An Interview with Golden Horse Winner Huang Xi on Daughter’s Daughter
by Alex Wu

An interview with the Director

“It was actually a comedy when I was crafting the script,” Huang laughs. Despite its emotional weight, the film wasn’t initially intended to be a tearjerker. In this interview, he looks back at how the story took shape, the characters’ motivations, and how audiences have responded to the film’s quiet honesty.

How has your time in Singapore affected you creatively? 

Huang Xi: I studied there during sixth to seventh grades. Even now, I’m still struck by how diverse the city is. And yes, I still remember how to order kopi. It feels like no time has passed.

What first sparked the idea for Daughter’s Daughter?

Huang Xi: The script had been in development for quite a while. We were preparing to begin production just before the pandemic, and then everything came to a stop. For a while, I thought the project might not survive. But the unexpected pause gave us time to reflect. The cast and team became close collaborators, and I had the chance to rework the screenplay with more clarity and care.

The film feels deeply personal. Were there aspects of your own life that helped shape the story?

Huang Xi: Definitely. Like many people, I’ve seen how generational expectations can create friction in Asian families. Around the time I started working on the film, my friends and I were reaching an age where questions of parenthood, IVF, surrogacy, were all coming up. I joked about what it would be like if I were Zuer (one of the main protagonists). I knew my parents would have a hard time. They’re even more dramatic than I am! But in the end, I believe that kind of love still finds a way.

Family relationships can be complicated, especially across generations. How did you approach portraying those dynamics?

Huang Xi: The most difficult part was managing the emotional tone. This isn’t just a family story, it touches on friendship, partnership, and care. Thankfully, my cast was incredible. We never needed more than four takes. Many of the most moving scenes were improvised. The performances felt real and intimate in a way that didn’t need much dialogue.

How did you feel directing and writing this film comparing your previous works? Anything similar or different?

Huang Xi: I felt more connected to this one. From development to production, it felt like a deeply collaborative process. We built it together with the production team. And with actors like Sylvia Chang, Karena Lam, and Eugenie Liu, so much of the emotions just happened in the moment. Some scenes were perfect in a single take. The tension and warmth between them brought the film to life.

Have you noticed any differences in how audiences abroad and in Asia respond to the film?

Huang Xi: Overall, audiences have understood the relationship between Ai and Zuer in a very intuitive way. That part seems universal. But cultural context does shape how people interpret what’s shown or not shown. In Toronto, for example, someone asked why there wasn’t a direct scene of Ai confronting Zuer’s sexuality. For me, that was something implied, something you can feel without saying. But I love how different cultures interpret the same scene.

What do you hope audiences take away from Daughter’s Daughter?

Huang Xi: Love. That’s the heart of it. Love that’s awkward and quiet and not always spoken. Ai is complicated. She struggles, but she does everything out of love. She confesses to Emma, accepts Zuer and her partner, and eventually chooses to raise the child. I think that kind of love exists in many families. It doesn’t always look perfect, but it’s there.

What’s next for you or for the film?

Huang Xi: I’m working on another comedy. It’s still in the early stages, so we’ll see. Hopefully people will laugh this time.

As Daughter’s Daughter continues to resonate with audiences in Singapore and beyond, its tender exploration of family, identity, and acceptance reminds us how cinema can bridge generational and cultural divides.

Don’t miss your chance to catch this and other powerful selections at the 2025 Singapore Chinese Film Festival. For full listings and tickets, please visit www.scff.sg.

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About the author: Alex Wu is a storyteller and a master’s student in the Global Communication and Innovation Technology (GCIT) program at National Chengchi University (NCCU). With a passion for bridging cultures and media, Alex is deeply engaged in cross-cultural communication—both through academic research and hands-on work with the Singapore Film Society. He uses storytelling to explore the intersection of technology, media, and global narratives, with a body of work spanning writing, audiovisual content, and creative media. At the heart of it all, Alex tells stories that highlight meaningful connections across languages and cultures—rooted in Taiwan, and always eyeing the world.

Connect with Alex: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex--wu/