“Whatever happens in life, there’ll always be cake.”

 

In the few years following the passing of Anshul Tiwari’s father, he and his family grappled with the idea of whether his mother could cope with the activities of daily living alone. 


“For years, I had this premise as an idea for a film at the back of his mind,” he recalled. So when the opportunity from Storeys to direct a short film came by, Anshul knew that it was finally time to tell his story through Sugee Cake, which he directed.


He approached frequent collaborators Grace Baey, who contributed to the film as director of photography, as well as Denise Oliveiro, writer of the film. Together, they explored the idea of telling the story from the perspective of a Eurasian family. 

Each Eurasian family has their own sugee cake recipe that is unique to them. Some families prefer to add icing or alcohol to their sugee cake, while others do not.

Some tend to add coarsely chopped almond for a more crumbly cake... While others with finer ground almond for a smoother cake texture.

Denise introduced Anshul and Grace to various aspects of the Eurasian culture. They observed typical Eurasian mannerisms and way of speaking, and explored Eurasian food such as Curry Feng, Devil’s Curry and more.  


Of the meal that they had, there was one dish that stood out: sugee cake, the recipe of which is guarded by each family. When Grace once asked Denise if she would teach her how to make it, she was shocked by Denise’s response. 


“Well, I can’t teach you the recipe but I can bake it for you,” said Denise. “Personally, I do not mind sharing the recipe, but it also belongs to my family, so it is not solely mine to give away.”


Sugee cake is a true classic of the Eurasian Heritage and ever present in important family milestones for the Eurasians. This includes baptisms, birthdays, weddings and yes, funerals too.

The small and tight-knit Eurasian community in Singapore makes up just 0.4% of the country’s population.

As such, Eurasian customs and traditions are mostly obscure to the rest of the population. Eurasian funerals may come across as too casual an affair to those unfamiliar with Eurasian customs.

It is not unusual for a Eurasian funeral wake to be filled with the sounds of laughter and chit chat. Neither is it for the casket to rest in the middle of their homes where the wake is held.

Eurasians speak in a style and tone of their own, with unique phrases and words that a person outside of the community may not understand.

It is these familiar slangs and demeanor that are truly unique to the Eurasians and make them who they are.

As the story Sugee Cake revolves around a Eurasian family, finding an all-Eurasian cast proved tricky in the landscape of a community that was so small.


After weeks of auditions and reshuffling of schedules, Sugee Cake finally had its cast.


The filming of Sugee Cake was a fun and collaborative effort by the entire cast and crew. The cast did not hold back their suggestions and opinions, which was appreciated and encouraged by the directors. 
After months of planning, scripting, casting, filming and editing, the story of Sugee Cake is finally ready to be told. 

Sugee Cake is a story that touches on the themes of family relationships and conflict, elderly care and the many faces of love. It offers the viewer an intimate look into a moment of a family's loss, which poses the question:

When your loved one passes on… Will you be able to pick up the pieces?

Or will you crumble under the heat?

 

WATCH THE STOREY