python print to file_Python 2.7: Print to File

Why does trying to print directly to a file instead of sys.stdout produce the following syntax error:

Python 2.7.2+ (default, Oct 4 2011, 20:06:09)

[GCC 4.6.1] on linux2

Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.

>>> f1=open('./testfile', 'w+')

>>> print('This is a test', file=f1)

File "", line 1

print('This is a test', file=f1)

^

SyntaxError: invalid syntax

From help(__builtins__) I have the following info:

print(...)

print(value, ..., sep=' ', end='\n', file=sys.stdout)

Prints the values to a stream, or to sys.stdout by default.

Optional keyword arguments:

file: a file-like object (stream); defaults to the current sys.stdout.

sep: string inserted between values, default a space.

end: string appended after the last value, default a newline.

So what would be the right syntax to change the standard stream print writes to?

I know that there are different maybe better ways to write to file but I really don't get why this should be a syntax error...

A nice explanation would be appreciated!