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The lead actress, Yeo Yann Yann, 36, who played the mother in the film, got pregnant in December 2011.

Director Anthony Chen had to rewrite the entire script and a pregnant mother was written into the film.

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1. The film is a critics' darling -- without trying to be one

Ilo Ilo won the Camera d'Or in Cannes for Best Debut Feature.

And this is what director Anthony Chen had to say about winning at the festival: "I didn't start off making a film for festivals or to win awards. It just started from a very genuine place. I just wanted to make something that was honest -- about the country I know, people I know, about this space, about this place."

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10 months was spent searching for the right child to play the role. The director saw 8,000 children, auditioned 2,000 and narrowed down to 150, who attended workshops for six months.

Koh Jia Ler, 12, eventually got the role -- except he didn't make the final 150 and had zero acting experience. He had sneaked into the workshop and asked to be selected because his friend had made the cut.

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2. It rocked audiences at debut screenings

The world premiere of Ilo Ilo Cannes Film Festival was marred by technical difficulties -- a power outage and the English and French subtitles disappearing and reappearing on the screen.

Despite the hiccups, the audiences stayed until the end and they gave Mr Chen and his cast a 15-minute standing ovation.

The film was given a warm reception last Saturday during its gala premiere at Sands Theatre at Marina Bay Sands.

Chen said: "I never expected the Singapore audience to respond to the film so well. They laughed, gasped and cried."

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In the shower scene where the boy actor was being bathed by the maid, he was made to strip completely naked when he shot that scene. Only the director and cameraman were present for that shoot.

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3. It cost relatively little to make

Ilo Ilo cost $500,000 to make. It was partly funded by the Singapore Film Commission's now-defunct New Feature Film Fund and Ngee Ann Polytechnic.

His alma mater's $200,000 investment is the first time the institution has invested in an alumnus' work in the 20 years the film, sound and video diploma has been offered.

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To prepare herself for the role as the maid, Filipino actress Angeli Bayani, 36, went to a maid agency in Singapore for a day.

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4. It is going where Jack Neo films have never gone before

Chen said that the film has more than niche appeal: "We have made this small little film that has been sold to more than 20 countries all over the world. Is that not commercial? Isn't 'commercial' a film that can travel to a lot of places and be seen by audiences everywhere?"

Ilo Ilo opens in France on Sept. 4, in Hong Kong on Nov. 21 and in Taiwan on Nov. 29.

It is out in Singapore.

Another film, Remittance, that focuses on foreign domestic workers, will be out early next year. You can help fund it.