Ngee Ann Kongsi sponsors 900 tickets to Dear You screenings in Teochew

Ngee Ann Kongsi sponsors 900 tickets to Dear You screenings in Teochew The Teochew philanthropic organisation's sponsorship follows overwhelming demand for the film's Teochew screenings in Singapore. Ngee Ann Kongsi has sponsored 900 tickets to the Teochew screenings of the Chinese film Dear You for its members and affiliated Teochew clan associations, the philanthropic organisation announced on Wed (Jul 1). Of the 900 tickets, 100 were set aside for seniors, caregivers and their family members through the Ngee Ann Kongsi Social Impact Hub, an initiative with the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) that supports programmes related to ageing and eldercare. Among the beneficiaries is Mr Liew, who will be attending the screening with his wheelchair-bound Teochew mother-in-law, and Ms Suan, who plans to watch the film with her 93-year-old mother, Tan Gek Yong. Born in Puning, China, Madam Tan moved to Singapore as a child and later built her life here with her late husband, who was from Jieyang, China. According to Ngee Ann Kongsi, she has not watched a Teochew-language film in about 40 years. The sponsorship comes amid strong public interest in Dear You, whose Teochew screenings have repeatedly sold out and sparked broader conversations about dialects, heritage, Chinese cultural identity and surrounding language policies in Singapore. On Monday, 14,000 tickets for 40 additional commercial screenings sold out in three hours. Movie distributor Clover Films also submitted a request to the Infocomm Media Development Authority for a further 100 screenings. The movie, shot almost entirely in Teochew, follows a cash-strapped young man who secretly travels to Thailand to find the estranged grandfather who sent remittance letters to his family in China for decades. Ngee Ann Kongsi president Chia Chor Meng said the organisation hoped the initiative would allow more members of the Teochew community to connect with their heritage. "The movie showcases the kinship that connects our Teochew communities, both within Singapore and across Asia, and provides a look at the hardships that our ancestors went through to build their lives in Singapore," he said. "We are happy to support the enthusiastic reception of the movie, as it signals a growing interest among Singaporeans to learn and appreciate their cultural heritage." Founded in the 1840s and formally incorporated in 1933, Ngee Ann Kongsi is one of Singapore's oldest Teochew philanthropic organisations.