SINGAPORE, Aug 24 — For those who can’t get enough of saccharine Taiwanese romance flicks, such as Our Times and You Are the Apple of My Eye, a local rendition of that genre is coming your way.

My Love Sinema, the product of a partnership between FLY Entertainment, MM2 and Bioperfect, is an upcoming period drama-romance set in the 1950s, which stars Tosh Zhang of Ah Boys To Men fame, and Cheryl Wee, who was recently seen in Channel 5’s Mata Mata.

Zhang plays Kheong, a simple 20-year-old who moves to Singapore from a village in Malaysia to pursue his dream of being a film projectionist.

Here, he meets his mentor Lee (played by Taiwanese actor Jeff Wang) and Wei (played by Wee), his Chinese teacher and love interest.

The film follows Kheong as he navigates life in Singapore and his passion for film, while fighting for his relationship with Wei against obstacles such as her family and, erm, fiance.

Sparks fly

The highlight of any romance film is, of course, the chemistry between the male and female leads.

For Zhang and Wee, My Love Sinema is the first project they have ever worked on together, so a rapport between the two had to be built fast.

Thankfully, they have a common love interest — food.

"Our favourite bonding activity is talking about food. We both love eating, but the difference is I can eat on set while Cheryl was on a diet,” Zhang enthused in our interview with the pair.

Wee chimed in: "It was really horrible! I had to sit and watch Tosh eat all these amazing dishes like Ipoh hor fun, egg tarts and kueh, while I ate my boiled chicken breast. If Tosh was really fat it would be fine, but the problem is he eats so much and is still so lean.”

The pair also had the chance to build a relationship during rehearsals and script reads for romantic scenes with help from the director, Tan Ai Leng.

But when it came to intimacy, Zhang and Wee were on their own.

"One of the most difficult scenes to film was definitely the kissing scene. Our director didn’t really tell us what we should do; she just told us to do whatever feels more natural at that point of time.

"So, Cheryl and I came to a consensus to not discuss it before the scene starts and just went with the flow while shooting the scene,” shared Zhang.

First place

My Love Sinema also marks many other firsts for both Zhang and Wee. It is Zhang’s first time as the sole male lead in a film — he previously played supporting character Sergeant Ong in Ah Boys To Men and was the co-lead in The Lion Men — and Wee’s first silver screen role.

And as with any first time, the journey has not been without its challenges.

First off, My Love Sinema is a Mandarin film, while both Zhang and Wee are not adept Mandarin speakers.

"I had to be convincing while speaking Mandarin, so I had to take note of my enunciation and accent to not sound like I don’t use the language frequently,” said Zhang.

Wee, whose character is also a political activist, had a particularly hard time with complicated political monologues in the movie and had to memorise them intensely.

Time constraints were another big issue.

From rehearsals to actual filming, the production process took less than five months, a tight schedule to follow for a big screen motion picture.

"The pace is a lot faster than what I’m used to for television. We were very serious about finishing on time every day because the schedule was planned very tightly.

"Also, you have only 90 minutes to really capture the audience’s attention, so everything has to be on point.

"That’s where technique and skills really come in — an area where I think I still have to brush up on. It’s a lot more challenging,” confessed Wee.

For Zhang, the hardest part was being alone as the cast and crew travelled across Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore to film.

"We were in Ipoh for a whole month and in between scenes, I had a lot of alone time. Of course, I talk to Cheryl or Jeff, but it’s very different compared to my experience in Ah Boys To Men.

"The Ah Boys were definitely much rowdier and we’d always be joking around,” Zhang revealed.

"However, this also meant I got a lot more time to reflect on how I want to better depict my character. I was able to be more serious and delve into my character more this time.”

Research and development

While filming might be tough, it helped that both Zhang and Wee saw something in their characters that resonated with their own personalities.

"I identify with Kheong’s passion for who and what he loves. He’s the type of guy that will go the extra mile for anything he loves.

"Similarly, when I’m really interested in something, someone or a goal, I will go all the way,” said Zhang.

For Wee, it’s Wei’s rebellious streak.

"Wei’s father didn’t want her to be a Chinese teacher because he was a supporter of the British colonial government but she went ahead with it, and joined political movements.

"Her steadfastness in doing something she believes in is something I see in myself, like when I joined beauty pageants and applied to New York’s Broadway Dance Centre behind my parents’ back.”

The duo also saw to it that they did their research before undertaking the roles in the period film.

Wee talked to people from the era, while Zhang listened to music from the 1950s and read through news articles from the national archives to get a feel of the politics and culture of Singapore in the 1950s.

It still remains to be seen if the local love story will be as much of a hit as similar romance films; but with a relatable storyline and a hardworking pair at the helm, it should give viewers a nostalgic and cinematic throwback to life and love in 
1950’s Singapore. — TODAY

* My Love Sinema opens in cinemas on Sep 8.