SINGAPORE - National water agency PUB has reunited the two orphaned brothers, Din and Zul, in a poignant ending to its Hari Raya short film that first captivated viewers here in May.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday evening (July 23), PUB released the ending in the form of a 5-minute audio story titled Dear Din, From Zul, which its creative team crafted in collaboration with members of the public.
The audio story captures Zul reading a series of letters to Din, telling his side of the story after the brothers were separated on the morning of Hari Raya.
And while the pair do reunite in the end and try to make up for lost time, they face a trying situation.
PUB last month called for ideas on the ending of its first festive short film Kinship, which was released on May 30, ahead of Hari Raya Puasa.
It tells the story of two brothers who grew up in an orphanage in the 1960s but later fell out after older brother Din learnt he would be adopted.
Its message of mending relationships and family ties, which is central to the spirit of Hari Raya, left Facebook users teary-eyed, with many hoping for a sequel that will see the brothers reunite, after the film ended in a cliffhanger.
PUB said that within a week after it urged the public to send in their story ideas for the film's ending, it received more than 200 submissions through Facebook comments and e-mails.
In a statement on Wednesday, PUB said that three people were selected to participate in an exclusive workshop with the minds behind Kinship, including PUB staff, creative agency Tribal Worldwide and Freeflow Productions director Roslee Yusof.
The selected entries were from Ms Nur Atiqah Ashari, 24; Mr Seneca Chiu Shengkai, 41; and Ms Noor Arfa Mohamad Yusoff, 22.
The trio were hosted for over three hours on July 9 at PUB's headquarters in Scotts Road, where they helped develop the story's ending that was based on the storyline submitted by Ms Noor Arfa.
Mrs Cindy Keng, who is the director of PUB's 3P Network, said the agency was humbled and encouraged by the public's overwhelming response to Kinship.
"We felt that it is only fitting to include our fans' voices as part of this much-anticipated ending and co-create the appropriate ending for Din and Zul," she said.
PUB said that the team decided to produce the final ending as an audio story to better capture the sounds of Zul reading his letters to Din, as well as the emotions of the brothers' reunion. The story was recorded with 3D audio effects.
Tribal Worldwide Singapore creative director Benson Toh said that the audio story brings a fresh take on storytelling, seeing as how many would have expected another film.
He added: "Dear Din, From Zul takes on a very personal perspective, which helps listeners get close to the heart of the story, and builds on the connection that people have already made with the original Kinship story."
Ms Noor Arfa said she enjoyed being part of the creative process.
"I also really wanted to meet the scriptwriters and the child actors because they were so good," she added.
