SINGAPORE – Local film Wonderland will have its world premiere at the 24th San Diego Asian Film Festival on Nov 8 in San Diego, California.

The Hokkien and Mandarin movie starring Mark Lee, Xenia Tan and Peter Yu will be screened under the Asia Pop! section, alongside films such as Malaysia’s Ma, I Love You, Thailand’s You & Me & Me, South Korea’s Concrete Utopia and Japan’s River.

Directed by award-winning Singaporean film-maker Chai Yee Wei, Wonderland – formerly titled The Last Letters – is produced by Mocha Chai Laboratories and mm2 Entertainment, with the support of the Singapore Film Commission. His previous movies include Blood Ties (2009), Twisted (2011) and That Girl In Pinafore (2013).

Set in 1980s Singapore, Wonderland sees Lee playing Loke, a single father who works hard to ensure his only child Eileen (Tan) gets the best education. He lies to her that he can afford her overseas education, and convinces her to go to New York City to further her studies.

Loke’s new friend Tan (Yu) is in a predicament when he receives bad news about Eileen.

Unable to tell Loke the truth, he fabricates a lie that turns into full-blown deception.

Chai, 47, said in a statement: “At first, we didn’t have Mark in mind, as we were looking at more ‘serious dramatic’ actors for the part of Loke. But then I realised that it isn’t down to the fact that Mark is not serious, he was simply never given the opportunity.”

Local actor Lee, 54, who was nominated for Best Leading Actor at the Golden Horse Awards in 2020 for the comedy-drama Number 1 (2020), added: “After being nominated, my perspective has changed. There is so much I have learnt, especially when it comes to the roles I want to play going forward, and how I treat and interpret my roles and the scripts.”