Reunion Dinner, the first local movie made wholly during pandemic, opens ahead of Chinese New Year

SINGAPORE — Reunion Dinner, Singapore's first local film to be conceived, produced and released entirely during the COVID-19 pandemic, had its gala premiere at Marina Bay Sands on Tuesday night (18 January).

It's also the first local film to hit cinemas in 2022, opening on 20 Jan, right before the traditional moviegoing boom during the Chinese New Year period.

You can read our full review of Reunion Dinner here.

Lim Teck, managing director of Clover Films and executive producer of the movie, said, "This movie is the movie version of a pandemic baby. We conceived, developed and delivered the movie after the pandemic started. We are very proud of how the movie turned out and want to thank all our partners, sponsors, director Ong Kuo Sin, the entire cast and production team. We are overwhelmed by the reaction from the audience last night at the Sands Theatre and hope more people can catch our movie!"

Starring Lawrence Wong, Mark Lee and Xiang Yun, Reunion Dinner is about an advertising executive who is estranged from his only family, his mother, but has to stage a fake reunion dinner for his client and his girlfriend's father.

Ahead of the premiere, a press conference was held at Marina Bay Sands, the movie's location partner.

For Xiang Yun, it was her first time acting as a mamasan at a club.

Although Reunion Dinner is a comedy, the central storyline between Wong and Xiang Yun's characters of mother and son is an emotional one.

"The rest had comedic scenes, but I only had emotional scenes," said Xiang Yun. "But everyone went home laughing at the end of the day during the shoot."

Asked how he felt about acting opposite the veteran actress, Lawrence Wong said, "I felt very comfortable working with Xiang Yun because she is so nice. I actually first acted with her when I was very small, but I was a calefare at that time."

Mark Lee said the tradition of the CNY reunion dinner used to be very significant for people of his generation, but young people nowadays did not seem to find it important. "They come for half an hour just to show their face."

"I hope this movie will remind everyone that eating at the reunion dinner is really something very precious," said Xiang Yun.

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