The inspiration for the film came from an incident the director encountered when he was studying in the United States – a fellow Singaporean student had died unexpectedly, which made him think about the loss from the perspective of a new parent.
“I’ve always wanted to explore a story about the relationship between a father and a daughter, and this film very much does so. I’ve been wanting to tell this story for over 20 years, but I’ve had difficulties because it is a heavy topic,” said Chai in a previous interview with the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA).
In the same interview, Chang added: “The father-daughter relationship of the story is a beautiful aspect that we’ve been able to capture, but there’s also the other aspect of it, which is the story of two men in their silver years forming a beautiful friendship. It was important for us to tell this story in an Asian context.”
Chai’s previous works include That Girl In Pinafore and Mr Midnight: Beware The Monsters.
Wonderland had its world premiere in November at the 24th San Diego Asian Film Festival as part of the event’s Asia Pop! section. It won the Best Audience Award.
The film had its Asian premiere at the Singapore International Film Festival in early December.
Lee next stars in Money No Enough 3 alongside Henry Thia and Jack Neo.