DREAM STALL (梦想小店) (2026)

Genre: Drama/Comedy
Director: Annette Lee
Cast: Annette Lee, Mark Lee, Xixi Lim, Jaspers Lai, Ya Hui, Cassandra See, Xander Pang
Runtime: 1 hr 42 mins
Rating: PG (Some Coarse Langague)
Released By: Golden Village and mm2 Entertainment 
Official Website: https://annettelee.sg/dreamstallmovie

Opening Day: 27 May 2026

Synopsis: When her father (Mark Lee) decides to shut down their family bak kut teh shop, top-scoring university graduate Enya (Annette Lee) takes it upon herself to save it.

Movie Review:

When the end credits roll on Dream Stall, what lingers most is sincerity. You can feel the effort behind every scene, every joke and every emotional beat. More importantly, you can sense how much this project means to Annette Lee. It is the kind of debut where audiences instinctively want to applaud not just the filmmaker, but everyone involved in bringing the movie to life.

For Lee, best known for her popular online comedy skits and social media presence, Dream Stall represents a major leap forward. This is her first feature film, and she wears multiple hats as director, scriptwriter, and lead actress — an ambitious undertaking that could easily have collapsed under its own weight. Instead, the movie emerges as one of the more heartfelt local productions in recent memory, powered by genuine affection for its characters.

The story follows Lee’s character as she navigates personal ambitions, family tensions and the challenges of trying to sustain a humble bak kut teh business while chasing bigger dreams. Beneath the comedy lies a recognisable Singaporean experience: balancing practicality with aspiration, while trying to honour family expectations. The film’s hawker culture backdrop gives it an immediate warmth and familiarity that local audiences will likely connect with.

One of the film’s greatest strengths is how the dialogue flows. Local productions sometimes struggle to make bilingual conversations sound authentic, but Dream Stall handles its English-Mandarin exchanges with ease. Lee, in particular, delivers her lines with such casual rhythm that the viewing experience feels comfortable and lived-in rather than scripted. It has been a while since a local film captured conversational Singaporean English this naturally.

Supporting performances elevate the film even further. Mark Lee is effortlessly reliable as the protagonist’s father, grounding the movie whenever he appears. There is a familiar warmth to his performance. He anchors scenes with the ease of a veteran performer who understands exactly how much presence is needed.

Meanwhile, Jaspers Lai and XiXi Lim inject the film with humour and heart as the protagonist’s loyal friends. Their chemistry with Lee feels organic, helping the movie maintain a breezy charm. Xander Pang, who is also making his feature film debut, has several genuinely hilarious moments.

A pleasant surprise is Ya Hui, whom audiences more commonly associate with dramatic television roles. Here, she reveals an unexpectedly strong flair for comedy, delivering some of the film’s funniest scenes.

Lee’s background in short-form online content clearly benefits the film’s comedic rhythm. Side gags are sprinkled throughout the movie, many earning genuine laugh-out-loud reactions. These smaller visual and verbal jokes help maintain energy. Being immersed in the local content creator scene also means audiences can look forward to several cameo appearances that add an extra layer of fun.

Dream Stall may not reinvent local cinema, but that is hardly the point. What makes it work is its sincerity, warmth and determination to tell a recognisably Singaporean story with heart and humour. More than anything, it feels like a dream realised — and that makes it very easy to root for.

Movie Rating:

(Warm, funny and unmistakably sincere, Annette Lee’s feature debut is made with heart and worth cheering for)

Review by John Li