Shirkers (2018)

There is something surreal about this movie.  Like Crazy Rich Asians, it is filmed in Singapore.  There is also an element of #MeToo, mixed with the stealing of someone else's work.  There is a lot going on in this documentary that was short listed for Best Documentary, along with 14 other films.
It is a hybrid caper confessional. The director, Sandi Tan revisits one of the most jarring experiences of her life and invites her friends, those involved with her movie in the ‘90s, and film critics to excavate the original project that gives this documentary its name. She retraces her steps from her childhood in Singapore with friends Jasmine Ng and Sophie Siddique, both of whom carry some baggage from this experience of their youth. Tan compiles old photos and handmade zines to playfully illustrate how they all met and bonded before starting one of the most ambitious projects of their young lives: to make a movie.
In remembering her past, Tan admits she was under the influence of a mysterious American self-proclaimed impresario, Georges Cardona. He taught the teenage girls how to make a movie, and after a fateful road trip with Tan, convinced her to film her script. He pushed the girls and squeezed money out of their bank accounts to complete shooting as he served as the film’s director. Once the filming was done, Cardona took the film stock and parts of the production with him as the three girls waited to hear from him. Tan heard from him once more before he vanished, taking all of their works and dreams with him.  Years later, when he died, the film was returned to her, and this documentary is also about her search for answers.