'I missed out on a lot of time with her': Yvonne Lim directs short film based on losing her mother at 13

Yvonne Lim has made her directorial debut with a story that hits close to home.

Titled Hope, the short film revolves around a mother (played by Adele Wong) with terminal cancer and her young daughter (Natalie Mae Tan) who stays by her side.

It aims to "raise awareness of the importance of regular screening and early detection thus alleviating the burden of cancer and reducing healthcare costs," Yvonne wrote in a Facebook post yesterday (Nov 21), and was commissioned by biotechnology company Mirxes.

"Honestly it took a lot of courage for me to share my personal experience and I hope everyone can see my sincerity and hard work on this journey."

The 47-year-old local actress held a screening for the film yesterday and she said in an interview with local media Lianhe Zaobao: "The story is about me and my mother, and the little girl in the film is playing me."

In the credits, it can be seen that Hope is dedicated to her mother Toh Kim Kee who died of cancer in 1990, when Yvonne was only 13.

"Her cancer was already in the last stage when she was diagnosed. I always feel that I missed out on a lot of time with her, which is a regret I have to this day," Yvonne added. "I feel like I can't fulfil my filial piety and I can't take my mother to travel or take her to eat delicious food like everyone else."

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Her filmmaking journey started when Yvonne's husband, Taiwanese former boy band member Alex Tien, told the story of Yvonne and her mum to their friend, who suggested they make a short film out of it.

Initially, Yvonne was unsure whether she wanted to tell the personal story.

"Later, I thought that if I could encourage people to get tested for cancer and get health check-ups through my own little story, they could detect the disease early on and treat it as soon as possible, or seek a peace of mind and make sure they are healthy," she said.

"Then I thought, 'I should do it'."

She only had one condition — that she had to make the film herself.

"I didn't want the story to be distorted, so the plot of the short film is really all based on my experiences," she added.

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For the sake of their children

Alex, 44, also lost his mum to cancer when she was 50 and him 28.

For the sake of their two young children, nine-year-old AJ and Alexa, six, the couple go for regular health screenings.

"I only started getting checked after I became a mother," Yvonne said. "I used to think I was still young, that I should be healthy and it would be fine.

"Now I think it's important to have a thorough health check-up."

She added that she started to get nervous about her health when she turned 36, the age her mum was when she died.

Over a decade on, Yvonne admitted she is still worried.

Hope won Yvonne Best First Time Filmmaker Feature at the Cannes World Film Festival and was the Grand Jury Winner at the SEE Asian Film Festival 2023.

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drimac@asiaone.com