Sympatico, the co-production label established in 2023 by Richard Johns’ Argo Films and Double Vision, the Malaysian prodco headed by Min Lim, has revealed that its first project into production will be an independent rom-com feature film entitled Mojo. 

To be filmed in Malaysia in co-production with Mocha Chai Laboratories, Mojo tells the story of an ambitious city boy who finds love and meaning in simple, rural life—and of social media superstar Mojo, the cow who has a hand—or hoof—in changing his life for the better.   

Adi is a rising star at Moo Magic Farms, boosting sales by turning a distinctive-looking cow, Mojo, into a viral sensation and helping the company aggressively hoover up small rural dairy farms in pursuit of profit. But in the region of Kampong Semerah Padi (KSP), one small farmer, Atan, and his daughter, Ayu, are holding out and encouraging other farms to do the same. When Atan kidnaps Mojo as leverage, all sorts of chaos ensues. Adi travels undercover to KSP to retrieve Mojo (who he’s actually very attached to) and convince the villagers to sell, but nothing goes to plan. He ends up falling in love with the villagers, the simple farming life – and Ayu. Adi must now choose between what he wants and perhaps what he truly needs. 

Mojo, which is being created for both the domestic and international market, promises to be funny, witty, romantic and heartfelt – in the vein of Ted Lasso or The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. It will be director Min Lim’s first feature film. She already has significant writing, directing and live venue producing experience, notably as executive producer for the acclaimed Asian adaptation of The Bridge, which won 22 regional and international awards, and as showrunner and director on the multi-award-winning Malaysian adaptation of the ITV/Sundance drama Liar. Recently, she has also directed episodes of the reboot of the popular Malaysian sitcom Kopitiam. 

Award-winning Malaysian scriptwriter Honey Ahmad (Motif, Saladin, Walinong Sari and one of Film Independent’s eight-strong cohort for its prestigious 2024 Episodic Lab programme) is the head writer for the film, with award-winning director Zahir Omar (Fly By Night, The Bridge) onboard as creative consultant. Michelle Chang (Venus on Mars, Wonderland) from Mocha Chai Laboratories will produce alongside Sympatico’s Richard Johns (Shadow of the Vampire, The Liability). 

Sympatico’s co-founder and Mojo director Min Lim comments: “I am so excited to be making my film director debut with this wonderful story and look forward to creating a memorable, heartfelt and very funny rom-com. From the outset, Sympatico wanted to make authentic Asian content with international appeal, and Mojo does just that: brilliant and quirky characters plus stunning backdrops, together with its universal ‘fish out of water’ and ‘David Vs Goliath’ themes, make for the perfect combination! 

“At its core, though, it’s a story about faith (of all kinds) and sacrifice and of doing right by others…working for the greater good rather than our own personal success. And it’s about the things that really matter in life, often found in its quieter, simpler moments: love, hope, joy, family, friends, purpose. Mojo will provide a gentle nudge to re-evaluate our priorities and find joy in everyday moments. In this increasingly complex and busy world, I think this is the kind of story we need now more than ever.” 

SC Films International to handle international sales for Mojo 

Sympatico is also delighted to announce that SC Films International will represent sales of the film for worldwide distribution. Based in London and founded by Simon Crowe, chairman of Film Export UK, SC Films’ experience with rom-coms includes Martin Freeman and Mandy Moore’s Swinging with the Finkels, Richard E Grant’s First Night, plus Olympic Dreams, and He Loves Me Not. Current slate projects include action titles Peter Facinelli’s On Fire (US) and Orang Ikan (Singapore-Indonesia), plus the fantasy horror Dusk (Australia). 

Simon Crowe comments: “We are delighted to partner with Sympatico at this early stage and are excited by the vision for Mojo. The film has a great team behind it, and with such a compelling story packed with plenty of fun and romance, it is destined to brilliantly entertain audiences around the world.” 

 Mojo will be filmed on location in the small and cinematically stunning northern Malaysian state of Perlis. It is anticipated that it will be ready for release in June 2025.