Anthony Chen said to be in talks to direct Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Sienna Miller film

(From left) Local film-maker Anthony Chen is directing a film starring actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Sienna Miller. PHOTOS: LIANHE ZAOBAO, REUTERS, AFP

SINGAPORE - Singapore film-maker Anthony Chen has been named as the director of a movie adaptation of the best-selling novel Secret Daughter.

According to entertainment news portal Deadline, Indian actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas and American actress Sienna Miller are said to be starring in the film.

The 2010 novel by Canadian author Shilpi Somaya Gowda tells the story of Asha, a girl born to a poor mother and given to a Mumbai orphanage. Asha is adopted by a couple from California. As an adult, her life will bring together two families, one Indian and one American, in a story that uncovers the complexities of cross-cultural adoption.

Amazon Studios is said to be behind the negotiations to get the film adaptation made.

When contacted by The Straits Times, Chen, who is based in London, declined to comment.

Chen, 37, has made two feature films, the dramas Ilo Ilo (2013) and Wet Season (2019). Ilo Ilo, which tells the story of a Singapore family and their domestic helper caught in the late-1990s economic slump, won the Camera d'Or, awarded to the best first feature by a film-maker, at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.

Wet Season earned six nominations, including for Best Feature, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay, at the Golden Horse Awards in 2019. Actress Yeo Yann Yann, who plays a teacher at a crossroads in her life, was named Best Leading Actress that year.

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