Chan Sze-Wei’s debut documentary “10s Across the Borders” has dropped its first trailer, which Variety is exclusively unveiling, ahead of its world premiere at the 2025 Busan International Film Festival, where it will compete in the Wide Angle Documentary Competition.
The film chronicles the rise of ballroom culture across Southeast Asia through the stories of three key figures: Sun from Thailand, Teddy from Malaysia, and Xyza from the Philippines. The documentary explores how these performers are building a vibrant queer community across borders while maintaining ties to ballroom’s New York City roots.
Chan Sze-Wei became involved in the project through a personal connection. When friend Sun began developing the regional ballroom community, the Singaporean filmmaker was invited to document the movement’s growth.
The documentary carries deep personal significance for Chan. “As a queer person and queer parent who’s never fit in, the communities in this film gave me the courage to come out as a non-binary individual,” the director said. “We made this film to celebrate ballroom’s power of activism, allyship, and belonging.”
The project represents an international co-production effort spanning four countries: the Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, and Germany. The producing team includes Alemberg Ang, whose recent credits include “Renoir” (Cannes 2025) and “Some Nights I Feel Like Walking” (Tallinn 2024), alongside Yasmin C. Rams (“Go Heal Yourself”) and Tan Si En (“Dreaming & Dying,” Locarno Golden Leopard winner).
Financing came from multiple sources including the Singapore Film Commission, Hessen Film, DMZ Development Fund, and BIFF’s Asian Cinema Fund, among others. The project also received development support through major industry platforms including Cannes Docs, Sheffield DocFest MeetMarket, and First Cut Lab.
Watch the trailer here:
