Mother’s Recipe

When a young Japanese boy, Yuya, is uprooted from his life in Japan and relocated to Singapore by his mother, he learns that the move is not temporary. Determined to return home, he runs away and begins working at a local food court to save enough money to go back. Alone in a foreign country where he cannot speak the language, Yuya is forced to navigate an unfamiliar world and discover what “home” truly means.

Izumo Kawabe is a 20-year-old Japanese director who grew up in Singapore. He began making films at the age of nine. His short film, MOTHER’S RECIPE (2023), won Best Short Film in the U25 category at the Academy-Qualifying Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia, was selected for multiple festivals, and garnered over 3.5 million total views from clips shared on social media platforms. He has worked with acclaimed Singaporean filmmaker Eric Khoo and is currently studying film production at NYU.

Main Cast: Estovan Reizo (Li), Hyuga Kawabe (Yuya), Kumi Morizaki (Yukiko), Jaslyn Koh (Mei)

Producer: Joel Eio, Chan Hong Yi, Izumo Kawabe

Writer: Izumo Kawabe

Cinematographer: Maxwell Li

Production Designer: Jaslyn Leow Wei Fang

Casting: Miyoshi Koji

Gaffer: Lim Meng Han

Sound Mixer: Sean Sui

Plays in