shm

SINGAPORE : "The Home Song Stories" is MediaCorp Raintree Pictures' latest film, and one of its most international to date.

Starring international artiste Joan Chen and local star Qi Yu Wu, the film is also the first Singapore-Australia collaboration.

It was the year 1964, a glamorous nightclub singer in Shanghai, played by Joan Chen, met an Australian sailor.

They migrated to Australia.

But it was a short-lived marriage, and she ended up working in Chinese restaurants.

The story was told through her son, who also happens to be the director Tony Ayres himself, reliving the story and painting the lives of Chinese in a foreign land.

"I've always felt that it was a big emotional story, with ups and downs. For me, (this story) was important. And I guess being able to work with companies like MediaCorp Raintree, having co-productions between countries is a way of facilitating that, because it's pretty hard to tell their stories as it's a small marketplace. Films have to succeed internationally, so having an international component is very significant for us," said Ayres, director/writer of "The Home Song Stories".

The movie comes at a time when Singapore and Australia are due to sign a Film Co-production Agreement at the APEC Ministers Meeting in Sydney next month, paving the way for more cultural and creative exchange between the two countries.

Also in the film is Singapore star Qi Yu Wu, who plays Chen's lover.

Raintree said it's a film that's international while at the same time "Uniquely Singapore."

"It's a film with various languages. It has English, Shanghainese, Cantonese, Mandarin, good English, bad English, so it's very real life, Singapore. And I think it makes our collaboration with Australia that much more meaningful because you're looking at a country that uses English as a first language, but it's about the Chinese trying to make it in a predominantly English speaking country," said Daniel Yun, Executive Producer of "The Home Song Stories" and MD of MediaCorp Raintree Pictures.

"The Home Song Stories" opens on September 6.

It's also part of the official selection at the Berlin Film Festival. - CNA /ls