SINGAPORE — A wildly successful first film often comes with a heavy burden. Can the next one possibly be as good?

Anthony Chen, a young Singaporean filmmaker, is facing this pressure and more. Last year, Mr. Chen, 30, became the first Singaporean to win a major award at the Cannes Film Festival. “Ilo Ilo,” his small-budget movie about a Singaporean family and their new Filipino maid, won the Camera d’Or for best first feature film. The tiny island nation celebrated; the president of Singapore graced the film’s local premiere.

Made for $500,000 and partly funded by the Singapore Film Commission, “Ilo Ilo” went on to win four Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan, including Best Picture, the biggest honor in the Chinese film world, beating Wong Kar-wai’s “The Grandmaster.” Variety named Mr. Chen one of 10 directors to watch.

Mr. Chen’s success shines a spotlight on Singapore’s steadily growing film industry and a new wave of Singaporean filmmakers. Once the center of the Malay film world, the city-state is known more for its port , banks and electronics factories than for cinema, but Mr. Chen’s accolades are the latest sign that this is changing.