Akanga Film Asia and director Yeo Siew Hua are framing this as an artistically ambitious literary adaptation that honors Jesse Ball's 'visionary' novel about silence, commitment, and the human heart. The multi-country co-production spanning Singapore, Japan, and European partners signals serious international prestige.
Here's what nobody's saying out loud: Yeo and Borgia are playing a very calculated game. Their previous collaboration 'A Land Imagined' won them the Golden Leopard at Locarno in 2018 — now they're leveraging that trophy to attract high-profile literary properties. The Cannes Film Market announcement wasn't accidental timing, either.
Yeo Siew Hua and Fran Borgia previously collaborated on 'A Land Imagined,' which won the Golden Leopard (Locarno's top prize) in August 2018. Production for 'Silence Once Begun' is scheduled for 2028 — a four-year gap that suggests major financing negotiations are still underway.
The Locarno golden boys are back, and they're betting big on silence as a cinematic statement. With Yeo's track record of getting Singaporean films into Venice competition and Borgia's growing international portfolio, this could be the prestige project both have been positioning toward — but four years is a long time in film, and plenty can change before cameras roll.
Some reunions are about nostalgia. This one reeks of strategy. Director Yeo Siew Hua and producer Fran Borgia, who claimed Locarno's Golden Leopard back in 2018 with 'A Land Imagined,' have officially reconvened for a new project — Jesse Ball's novel 'Silence Once Begun.' Akanga Film Asia, the Singapore-based production company founded by Borgia, announced the adaptation at this year's Cannes Film Market, securing the rights to what promises to be an atmospheric psychological thriller set in Japan. The novel centers on a journalist whose wife suddenly falls silent — and his subsequent obsession with Oda Sotatsu, a man who has confessed to multiple disappearances but refuses to utter another word after being taken into police custody. Facing the death penalty, Sotatsu offers nothing but silence while everyone around him scrambles to fill in the blanks. It's a premise built on what remains unsaid, which makes the four-year gap before production even begins all the more curious. 'I am really drawn to this story about what it means to keep one's silence and also in keeping to our commitments, especially in a world so full of noise and distractions,' Yeo said in a statement. The director, whose most recent feature 'Stranger Eyes' (2024) became the first Singaporean title ever selected for Venice's main competition, clearly sees something profound in Ball's meditation on refusal and restraint. Meanwhile, Ball himself — an American novelist, poet, and educator whose credits include 'How to Set a Fire and Why,' 'Census,' and 'The Repeat Room' — offered his own take: 'That tale is even more timely now than when it was written.' Borgia is developing the film as a multi-country co-production spanning Singapore, Japan, and partners across Asia and Europe. The same framework powered Akanga's recent credits: Chie Hayakawa's 'Renoir' premiered at Cannes 2025, while Tan Siyou's 'Amoeba' bowed at Toronto 2025. Borgia also produced Rima Das' 'Not A Hero,' which premiered at Berlinale earlier this year. With representation locked in through Sterling Lord Literistic, Inc. and CAA, the project has serious literary and industry muscle behind it. But here's the thing about silence — sometimes it's strategic. Yeo and Borgia leveraged their Locarno victory into a Venice competition slot with 'Stranger Eyes,' proving they know how to play the festival circuit for maximum exposure. Announcing 'Silence Once Begun' at Cannes Market rather than waiting for a premiere-ready moment suggests they're building momentum early, locking in co-production partners and public attention before production even begins. Whether that silence will translate to awards-season gold or quietly fade into development hell remains to be seen — but these two aren't exactly known for missing their mark.
