For the month of National Day, we have curated a selection of movies and TV shows, both non-fiction and narrative. Together, they weave a tapestry of varied Singaporean stories, offering a glimpse into our unique culture.
A Year of No Significance
The language policy in multiracial, multicultural Singapore is unique, and various factors shape the linguistic landscape of Singapore as we know it today. Acclaimed Singaporean filmmaker Kelvin Tong captures a snapshot of this changing landscape in this film, which is set in 1979. Architect Lim Cheng Soon (Peter Yu), 45, finds his career at risk when he is sidelined in the office because he cannot speak English. He is assigned to construction sites populated by Chinese-dialect-speaking workers while his English-speaking colleagues get to stay in the cushy office. Lim must also deal with his crumbling marriage while caring for his elderly father (Tan Tiow Im). A Year of No Significance is a poignant period piece that astutely captures the feeling of being left behind as time marches on, and society morphs away from what one has always known.
Sidelined in the office, Lim Cheng Soon is cut further adrift when his wife leaves him. His elderly father moves in. Robbed of his identities as architect, husband and son, Cheng Soon struggles.
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7 Letters
Released in 2015 to commemorate Singapore’s 50th year of independence, 7 Letters is an anthology film comprising short films from some of the country’s best-known filmmakers. The seven segments are Eric Khoo’s “Cinema”, an homage to ’50s Singaporean filmmaking; Jack Neo’s “That Girl”, about a childhood romance in a ’70s kampung (village); K Rajagopal’s “The Flame”, about an Indian family contemplating British citizenship just before the fall of Singapore during World War II; Boo Junfeng’s “Parting”, revolving around an elderly Malay man travelling from Singapore to Malaysia to find his childhood sweetheart; Tan Pin Pin’s “Pineapple Town”, following an adopted woman’s search for her biological mother; Royston Tan’s “Bunga Sayang”, about a young boy and his elderly Malay neighbour bonding over music and food; and Kelvin Tong’s “Grandma Positioning System”, about a family’s annual journey to their grandfather’s grave in Johor during the Qing Ming festival. An exploration of the different facets of a diverse country that has undergone monumental changes, 7 Letters is truly a love letter to Singapore.
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An emotive anthology by seven of Singapore's most illustrious filmmakers, celebrating SG50 through the lives and stories of Singaporeans.
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Hungry Souls: From Hell With Love
Filmmaker Eric Khoo executive produces this supernatural romance TV series directed by Caleb Huang and Meng Ong. The story is set in both the ’70s and the present day, centred on the Hungry Ghost Festival, which is observed by Buddhists and Taoists. During the seventh month of the lunar calendar, the gates of heaven and hell open, and people offer gifts of food and drink to their ancestors. A female ghost named Soo Lian (Christina Mok) has been wandering among the living for 50 years, searching for her true love, Hock (Rexen Cheng), whom she believes is still alive. She meets Bao (Danny Lee), a catering chef who can see spirits. Having been traumatised by his childhood supernatural encounters, Bao wants nothing to do with Soo Lian, but she pursues him to help her search for Hock. The cast comprises Taiwanese actors and Singaporean actors whom viewers of Chinese-language TV dramas will recognise, including Richard Low, Ayden Sng, Hayley Woo, and Fang Rong.
A female spirit, unable to reincarnate, receives a second chance when she meets a cook who can see spirits.
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From Book to Cook
Food is an inextricable part of culture, and this is especially true for food-obsessed Singapore. This illuminating series sheds light on Singapore’s history through the lens of food. Librarian Paddy Ong hosts guest chefs who provide insight into Singapore’s rich culinary heritage while cooking up a storm. Guests include Damian D’Silva, who cooks the unique Eurasian dish of sea snail and papaya curry; Tanya Pillay-Nair and her Aunty Danam from the Peranakan Indian Association of Singapore, who prepare otak blangah; cookbook author Lee Geok Boi, who puts together tapioca and sweet potato noodles with clams; and food historian Khir Johari, who rustles up the krill-based noodle dish mee maidin. It’s a show that will simultaneously whet your appetite and ignite your intellectual curiosity about Singapore.
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From Book to Cook is a new cooking show on Singapore’s old recipes found in the National Library collection.
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Money No Enough
Jack Neo, Mark Lee, and Henry Thia have collaborated often in movies and on TV. The 1998 movie Money No Enough is perhaps the trio’s best-known and most influential collaboration. Neo plays office worker Chew Wah Keong, Lee plays general contractor Ah Ong, and Thia plays kopitiam server Liang Chao Hui. Keong loses his job and struggles to find a new one because of his poor command of English and lack of computer literacy. Ong owes $40,000 to loan sharks, and Thia wastes his salary on buying lottery tickets. The three friends decide to start a carwash together, but their family problems threaten their fledgling business.
Money No Enough spawned two standalone sequels in 2008 and 2024, which also star Neo, Lee, and Thia.
The documentary Money No Enough: The Dawn of Singapore Cinema looks back at the creation of the first film despite limited resources, how Money No Enough kickstarted Singapore’s commercial film industry, in which Neo would become a dominant force, as well as the movie’s lasting legacy. Directed by Rickson Tan, the documentary includes interviews with Neo, Lee, Thia, Money No Enough director Tay Teck Lock, and Singaporean filmmakers Eric Khoo and Kelvin Tong.
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Three friends face family and financial problems. Their attempt to support each other falls apart when one friend cheats money from the other two. They must find a solution.
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On 7 May 1998, the movie MONEY NO ENOUGH was released. This programme charts the achievements of the movie.
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Singlish: Why We Talk Like That
Singlish, the unique blend of English, Mandarin, and dialect, is featured prominently in some of the titles listed above. Singaporeans have always had a fraught relationship with Singlish: some of us proudly own this uniquely local creation, while others feel it is unbecoming or signals that the speaker is poorly educated. Some see Singlish as a class signifier, and it has since become the subject of academic study. In this two-part documentary, singer-songwriter Shabir goes on a journey to document the origins and evolution of Singlish. He tracks the history of the attempts to curtail and even abolish Singlish, viewed by some as standing in the way of Singapore’s progress on the world stage, and learns how it eventually became an accepted and even celebrated part of Singaporean identity. Writer Gwee Li Sui, academics Luke Lu and Lee Junwen, and entertainers Hossan Leong, Chua Enlai, Haresh Tilani, Amy Cheng, and Masia One are among the personalities featured in the documentary.
Singer-songwriter Shabir goes on a journey to document the origins of our beloved language.
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