Film Movement has landed North American rights to “Stranger Eyes,” the surveillance-themed thriller from Singaporean director Yeo Siew Hua that competed for Venice’s Golden Lion in 2024.
The psychological thriller stars Taiwanese cinema icon Lee Kang-sheng (“Days”) alongside Chien-Ho Wu and Anicca Panna. The story centers on a young Singaporean couple whose world is shattered when their baby daughter disappears from a playground. Their nightmare intensifies after receiving mysterious surveillance footage documenting their daily lives both before and after the disappearance, leading them to suspect their neighbor Wu (Lee) may be involved.
The deal was negotiated between Film Movement president Michael Rosenberg and Nicolas Brigaud-Robert of Playtime. The distributor is planning a theatrical release in 2025, followed by a digital and home entertainment rollout.
“Stranger Eyes” marks a compelling follow-up from Yeo, who previously won Locarno’s Golden Lion with “A Land Imagined.” Critics have praised the film’s sophisticated approach to surveillance culture and psychological complexity. Variety‘s Guy Lodge called it “glisteningly atmospheric and elegantly non-linear,” while highlighting Lee’s “grave, sorrowful reserve.”
The film has already garnered significant festival attention, winning best film at Valladolid and best original score at the Golden Horse Film Festival, where it received five additional nominations. It also screened at the New York, BFI London and Stockholm film festivals among many others.
“Given the current state of technology and surveillance, Yeo truly hits a nerve with a brilliantly written script that asks some probing questions about how we live in contemporary society,” Rosenberg said.
The film is structured as a Singapore-Taiwan-France-U.S. co-venture. It is produced by Fran Borgia for Singapore’s Akanga Film Asia (“A Land Imagined”, “Tiger Stripes”); Stefano Centini for Taiwan’s Volos Films (“Tomorrow Is a Long Time,” “The Settlers”); Jean-Laurent Csinidis for France’s Films de Force Majeure (”Little Palestine, Diary of a Siege,” “A Holy Family”); and Alex C. Lo for the U.S.-based Cinema Inutile (“Club Zero,” “The Settlers”). Playtime is handling international sales.
The acquisition adds to Film Movement’s growing slate, which includes Jim McKay’s newly restored “Girls Town,” Belgium’s Oscar submission “Julie Keeps Quiet,” Lou Ye’s Golden Horse winner “An Unfinished Film,” the Zürcher brothers’ “The Sparrow in the Chimney,” and Okuyama Hiroshi’s Cannes Un Certain Regard selection “My Sunshine.”
