Little Hero

A moving story of one boy’ s growing-up years in post-war 1940s Singapore as he grapples with separation, loss and what it truly means to be a hero. Seven-year-old Ying Xiong looks forward to a better life in post-war Singapore after the Japanese troops’ surrender in September 1945.   However, a new war erupts at home when Xiong’ s father decides to return to his homeland in China. This tears the family apart when he takes Xiong’ s two elder brothers back with him, whilst Xiong and his mother remain in Singapore.   Xiong navigates his childhood years alone in a poor neighbourhood as his mother ekes out a livelihood for them. He makes a friend in Kampung Silat, follows a fearsome teenage gangster in Silat Road and gets to know a brave police inspector who becomes his neighbour. Through all this, Xiong comes to realise what it takes to be a hero, which is also the meaning of his name Ying Xiong.