As Singapore gears up to celebrate its landmark 50th year of independence in 2015, Cathay Organisation; whose legacy and heritage are weaved into the storied history of Singapore, will also welcome its 80th anniversary in July 2015. Cathay will commemorate this important milestone with the feature film, Our Sister Mambo, a romantic comedy that will be both a modern tribute to and reinvention of iconic Cathay classic films Our Sister Hedy (四千金, 1957) and The Greatest Civil War on Earth (南北和, 1961).
After months of planning and preparation, Our Sister Mambo got off to a roaring start this morning with a media conference and lensing ceremony at The Cathay to flag off the production journey. Fittingly, the film commenced production with the first scene being shot at The Cathay Cineplex, the site of the first Cathay cinema in Singapore, which opened in 1939.
Ms Choo Meileen, Producer of Our Sister Mambo and Managing Director of Cathay Organisation, shared her hopes and aspirations of the film during the media conference; “Cathay Organisation has come a long way since it was first established in 1935, and generations of cinema audiences and film lovers in Singapore and Malaysia have grown up with us over the years. I am proud to produce Our Sister Mambo to celebrate our 80th anniversary in 2015. With the talented and capable cast and production team on board, I am confident that audiences on both sides of the Causeway can look forward to a quality film for all to enjoy when it screens in July 2015. Hopefully Our Sister Mambo will enjoy the same popularity and longevity of Cathay Classic films such as The Wild Wild Rose (野玫瑰之恋, 1960), Mambo Girl (曼波女郎, 1957), Our Sister Hedy (四千金, 1957), Satay (1958), Sun, Moon and Star (星星、月亮、太阳, 1961), Dang Anom (1962) and the Pontianak series (1957 – 1964).”
A Cathay classic in the making
Our Sister Mambo will be Cathay’s first production since comedy That One No Enough in 2000. Drawing inspiration from one of Cathay’s most iconic classic films Our Sister Hedy – a 1957 production about a middle-class family with four unmarried daughters; Our Sister Mambo will be a modern-day Singaporean take on the themes of family, love and cross-cultural neighbourly ties.The film will be presented in English with a smattering of Mandarin, Cantonese, Malay, Korean and Tamil.
Multi-talented and multi-racial cast and crew
The film will star Singaporean favourites Moses Lim and Michelle Chong as a father-daughter pair. Moses Lim, actor, comedian, entertainer and food connoisseur whose last movie appearance is 2007’s Just Follow Law, will be making his big-screen comeback as the patriarch of the Wong family and long-time employee at Cathay Organisation. Popular host, actress and director Michelle Chong will portray the titular role of Mambo, the sassy second sister in the quartet of Wong daughters.
The rest of the Wong family will comprise stage thespians Audrey Luo and Ethel Yap as the fiery Mrs Wong and elegant big sister Grace respectively, local actress-host Oon Shu An as sultry third sister Rose and baby-faced Malaysian actress-singer Joey Leong as the innocent youngest sister June. Rounding up the cast are actresses Siti Khalijah and Rani Singam; as well as actors Muhammad Mahfuz Mazlan, Nelson Chia, Shankara Ebi and Jonathan Leong. Celebrity blogger Xiaxue (aka Wendy Cheng) and Chef Willin Low will also feature as special guest stars. Many of the cast will be gracing the big screen for the first time. There will also be surprise cameo roles by two veteran Cathay actors.
Helmed by Taiwan-based Malaysian director Ho Wi Ding, popular local playwright Michael Chiang and producer Ms Choo Meileen, Our Sister Mambo will also feature a range of production talents from the region; including Hong Kong-based director of photography Ho Yoke Weng, Malaysian art director Soon Yong Chow and music director Hardesh Singh as well as Singaporean stylist Theresa Chan and hair and make-up studio Makeup Entourage.
Production of Our Sister Mambo is due to be completed in mid-September 2014. The film will be released in theatres in July 2015, for Cathay Organisation’s 80th anniversary on 18 July 2015. Cathay Organisation intends to donate SGD 1 for every ticket sold in all cinemas, as well as all profits, if any, after the recoupment of production costs to its adopted charities.
This Cathay Asia Films production will be undertaken in association with Oak3 Films.
