Boo Junfeng first made waves in 2010 when his debut feature, Sandcastle, became the first Singaporean film to receive an invitation to the Cannes Film Festival International Critics’ Week. Six years on, the director is heading back to the French Riviera. His second feature, Apprentice, will have its world premiere at the festival (May 11-22) as part of its Un Certain Regard section.
Apprentice tells the story of Aiman, a correctional officer who is transferred to a maximum security prison. There, he strikes up a friendship with Rahim, an ageing sergeant who is nearing retirement. Aiman learns that Rahim is the prison’s executioner and he’s looking for an apprentice. But Aiman has doubts about the death penalty. And he has a secret. Rahim is the man who hanged Aiman’s father.
For more on Apprentice, read our 2015 interview with Boo Junfeng.
