Sing To The Dawn [2008]

Release Date :30 October 2008
Origin :Singapore
Genre:Animation
Director :Phil Mitchell
Starring:Erin Malek, Jason Chan

Synopsis:Based on the award-winning novel by Minfong Ho, Sing to the Dawn is the coming-of-age story of a girl fighting for her right to basic education and making true her dreams. Dawan is an average teenage girl growing up in a small Southeast Asian village. But she has bigger dreams and wants more than her small town and traditional way of life can offer. One day everything is turned upside down when her family gets the news that they must pay new taxes or they will lose their home. The entire village is at risk.

Somchai, Dawan's father, has a solution. He insists that Dawan tutor her brother Kai so that he can win an upcoming scholarship. Dawan herself will be engaged to Benz, the brutish son of the village landlord, Pairote. Pairote's family money would surely protect her, but the idea of marrying Benz is more than she can accept.

Dawan decides that her only option is to win the scholarship herself which will enable her to study in the big city. She succeeds but instead of gaining recognition and respect, her actions only cause more strife for her family. Alone and distraught, Dawan seems to have nowhere to turn when Old Wichien, the village fool and crazy puppeteer, reveals a secret to her. The Ancient Decree giving Pairote and his family ownership of the land is a fake. An authentic decree hidden inside a haunted temple states the land really belongs to the villagers. She also discovers that Pairote has created a lie about the new taxes in order to oust the villagers from their homes where he plans to build a casino.

Dawan must selflessly act to find this decree and stop Pairote and his henchman from knocking down the village, as her father and friends stall the inevitable destruction.

With the aid of some clever animals and the reluctant help of Kai, Dawan will overcome dangerous obstacles and the traditional limits placed upon her. She saves the village and at the same time, receives her father's consent to study in the big city, making true her dreams.

Posted in: Animation