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Directors: Junfeng Boo, Eric Khoo, Jack Neo, K Rajagopal, Pin Pin Tan, Royston Tan and Kelvin Tong
Year: 2015
IMDB Score: 6.6/10
Photo-credit: IMDB
An emotive anthology by seven of Singapore's most illustrious filmmakers, celebrating SG50 through the lives and stories of Singaporeans. Directed by Eric Khoo, Jack Neo, K. Rajagopal, Royston Tan, Tan Pin Pin, Boo Junfeng, Kelvin Tong.
Photo-credit: IMDB
TV producer Tay Teck-lock made his feature directorial debut with this popular low-budget Singapore-made comedy about life in government projects. Featuring lead performers from the weekly Comedy Night TV series, this movie made $3 million in its first two months, climbing charts as the island's all-time top-grossing Chinese-language film (and outranking Hollywood blockbusters). Married father Chew Wah-keong (Jack Neo, the movie's writer), angry when he's not promoted, insults his boss and quits. Apartment renovator Ong (Mark Lee) has two weeks to pay off some loan sharks. The key problem facing waiter Hui (Henry Thia) is how to score with women despite his geeky appearance. This trio sets laughs in motion as they concoct wild money-making schemes. About 85% of the film's dialogue is Hokkien, the island's main Chinese dialect, with the remainder in Singlish and Mandarin. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
Photo-credit: FFM
A migrant worker from China goes missing at a Singapore land reclamation site after suffering from insomnia. The trail leads the police to discover more than just history buried under all that sand. In a city that never sleeps, its inhabitants dream awake. The film follows a sleepless policeman and his partner, who are tasked to uncover the case of a missing Chinese migrant worker.
Photo-credit: IMDB
APPRENTICE stars impressive newcomer Fir Rhaman in his first feature film. He plays Aiman, a 28-year-old Malay correctional officer who is recently transferred to the territory's top prison. At his new workplace, Aiman begins to take an interest in a 65-year-old sergeant named Rahim (veteran actor Wan Hanafi Su). Soon, it is revealed that the charismatic Rahim is actually the long-serving chief executioner of the prison. Rahim also takes notice of the principled and diligent Aiman, and when Rahim's assistant suddenly quits, he asks Aiman to become his apprentice. When Aiman, who lives with his older sister Suhaila, tells her about his new position, she becomes distraught, as their father was actually executed by Rahim. Can Aiman overcome his conscience and a haunted past to possibly take over as the next chief executioner?
APPRENTICE boasts the same cinematographer, Benoit Soler, as ILO ILO (winner of the Camera d'Or in Cannes and released by Film Movement in 2014) and is executive produced by filmmaker Eric Khoo. Junfeng Boo's second feature film premiered at Un Certain Regard at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.
Photo-credit: IMDB
Directors Woo Yen Yen and Colin Goh co-helm the ironic drama Singapore Dreaming (AKA Mei Man Ren Sheng). Richard Low stars as lawyer's clerk Loh Poh Huat, who, despite battling dire poverty himself, is forced to repossess goods from consumers who haven't paid off their credit card debts. Fate shifts when Poh Huat wins two million in the local lottery, so his family expects circumstances to ease significantly for them, but then an unforeseen catastrophe pulls the entire clan into a life-or-death struggle. Alice Lim, Dick Su and Yeo Yann Yann co-star. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
Photo-credit: IMDB
Set in Singapore during the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Ilo Ilo chronicles the day-to-day drama of the Lim family - troublesome grade-schooler Jiale and his overstressed parents, Heck and Leng. Comfortably middleclass and with another baby on the way, they hire Teresa, a Filipino immigrant, as a live-in maid and nanny. An outsider in both the family and Singapore itself, Teresa initially struggles to manage Jiale's antics and find her footing in her new community. The two eventually form a unique bond, but just as Teresa becomes an unspoken part of the family, unforeseen circumstances in an uncertain economy will challenge the new normal yet again. (c) Film Movement
Photo-credit: IMDB
The story of two childhood friends who grew up mesmerized by the glitter and glamour of getai. They are The Papaya Sisters, two of the showiest performers on the circuit because the "song stage" with all its pomp and pageantry is a respite from the emptiness and dreariness of their own lives.
Photo-credit: IMDB
Wet Season follows the plight of Ling, a Chinese language teacher whose marriage and school life are fraying apart because she is unable to bear a child. But an unlikely friendship with a student helps her reaffirm her identity as a woman.
Photo-credit: IMDB
Li-ann, a dreamer, is a strong believer of the soul mate theory and rejects all men, especially her best friend KS, till she falls in love with Jeremy, at first sight. They tour Chinatown, Singapore, together on February 29 1980. Unfortunately, she is heartbroken when he tells her he is engaged. He decides to make up to her by meeting her same time, same place, every leap year. Their love spans twenty years, as they realize the pain of love until they take the leap of faith...and the leap of love
Photo-credit: IMDB
Based on a short story and script by local writer Damien Sin, the film casts an uncompromising gaze into the marginal losers of society, following a dim-witted mee pok seller who is obsessed with Bunny, a prostitute who frequents his stall. Bunny dreams of a better life and remains unaware of the man’s affections until circumstances lead to a most unlikely union and a resolution that borders on the macabre.
DISCLAIMER: Contains nudity