Sing to the Dawn hits screens on 30 Oct2 min read

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Singapore’s very first English animated film, “Sing to the Dawn” will hit the screens on October 30. The film has been in the pipeline for the past four years and was made with a budget of S$7.5 million.

Voiced by local talents, the film is a co-production between Infinite Frameworks, MediaCorp Raintree Pictures and the Media Development Authority of Singapore, and is currently making rounds at the film festivals across the globe.

Billed as a family movie, Sing to the Dawn is based on the award winning novel written by Singaporean author, Ho Minfong, and tells the story of a young village girl, and the obstacles she faces while chasing her dream of studying in the city.

Phil Mitchell, director of Sing to the Dawn, said:  “Visually we are trying to achieve a non-photo realistic look. So that means we’re not trying to pretend what we’re making is the real world. We want to produce a movie that has a particular look and feel on its own, leave enough of a gap for the viewer particularly these youngsters to take possession of it and fill in those gaps themselves, allow their imagination to make the picture to be what they want it to be.”

He added that the Walt Disney adaptation of The Jungle Book served as an inspiration for this film. Producers of Sing to the Dawn also credited the film’s unique look to its animation style, which carries a uniquely Southeast Asian feel.

Daniel Yun, managing director of MediaCorp Raintree Pictures, said: “Our aim is to really get recognition not only in Singapore, but in Asia as well as global markets. That animation in Singapore is well and alive. Our budgets are relatively small, our animation is not exactly cutting edge, but it is really special to this part of the world.”

Sing to the Dawn is Raintree’s first animation movie, and casts Celine Rosa Tan as Dawan, the young girl, Lim Kay Siu as the father, Somchai and Neo Swee Lin as the grandmother.