7 Letters

For other uses, see Seven Letters (disambiguation).

7 Letters is a 2015 Singaporean anthology drama film directed by seven different directors. It comprises seven short stories celebrating Singapore's 50th anniversary.^[2] The film was selected as the Singaporean entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards but it was not nominated.^[3]

7 Letters
Film poster
Directed by	Eric Khoo (segment "Cinema") Boo Junfeng (segment "Parting") Jack Neo (segment "That Girl") Kelvin Tong (segment "GPS (Grandma Positioning System)") K. Rajagopal (segment "The Flame") Tan Pin Pin (segment "Pineapple Town") Royston Tan (segment "Bunga Sayang")
Written by	Eric Khoo Boo Junfeng Jack Neo Ivan Ho Kelvin Tong K Rajagopal Tan Pin Pin Royston Tan
Produced by	Karen Khoo-Toohey
Cinematography	Michael Zaw (segment "GPS (Grandma Positioning System)") Hideoho Urata (segment "Parting" and "The Flame") Brian McDairmant (segment "Pineapple Town") Alan Yap (segment "Bunga Sayang") Harris Hue (segment "That Girl")
Edited by	Yim Mun Chong (segment "GPS (Grandma Positioning System)") Christopher Datugan (segment "GPS (Grandma Positioning System)") Tammy Quah (segment "Bunga Sayang") Fran Borgia (segment "The Flame") Brian Gothong Tan (segment "Cinema")
Music by	Ricky Ho Ting Si Hao and Joe Ng (segment "GPS (Grandma Positioning System)") Matt Kelly (segment "Parting") Dick Lee (segment "Bunga Sayang")
Production company	Chuan Pictures
Distributed by	Golden Village Pictures
Release date	24 July 2015 (2015-07-24)
Running time	116 minutes
Country	Singapore
Languages	Malay Hokkien Mandarin Tamil English
Box office	US$$232,027 (Singapore)[1]

Cast

"Cinema"

• Nadiah M.Din as The Actress
• David Chua as Fan Fan Law
• Aric Hidir Amin as Slim Villager
• Faizal Abdullah as Round Villager
• Hamidah Jalil as Older Actress
• Lim Poh Huat as Pontianak
• Juliette Binoche as Lady at Cavenagh Bridge (special appearance)

"That Girl"

• Yan Li Xuan as Caiyun
• Josmen Lum as Ah Shun
• Brien Lee as Ah Fa
• Sebastian Ng as Ah Cai

"The Flame"

• T. Sasitharan as Father
• Nithiyia Rao as Leela
• N. Vighnesh as Mani
• Fatin Amira as Helper

"Bunga Sayang"

• Ray Tan Liang Yu as Little Boy
• J. Rosmini as Makcik
• Faith Denning as Teacher

"Pineapple Town"

• Lydia Look as Ning
• Nickson Cheng as Kang
• Rexy Tong as Michelle (Baby)
• Rianne Lee as Michelle (6 Years Old)
• Anne James as Sumathi
• Yoo Ah Min as Ah Gek
• Karen Lim as Kim Leng
• Rachel Tay as Birth Mum

"Parting"

• J.A. Halim as Ismail
• Cheryl Tan as Swee Choo
• Khalid Omar as Train Conductor
• Jonathan Sim as Immigration Officer
• Nickson Cheng as Duty Officer
• Desmond Tay Thong Nam as Taxi Driver
• Angel Yeung as Woman on Bus
• Ashmi Roslan as Young Ismail
• Daryl Toh as Flag-day Boy
• Vivian Lim as Shop Assistant

"GPS (Grandma Positioning System)"

• Zhang Jin Hua as Grandma
• Zheng Geping as Son
• Hong Huifang as Daughter-in-law
• Hazelle Teo as Granddaughter
• Rey Phua as Grandson
• Mok Tye Par as Grandpa

Source :^[4]

Reception

Maggie Lee of Variety called the film "uneven but mostly poignant".^[4] Joanne Soh of The New Paper rated it 4/5 stars and wrote that it "truly is a passion project that will strike a chord with the older generation".^[5] John Lui of My Paper rated it 4.5/5 stars and wrote that the film's quality is good enough to call for a reassessment of assumptions about government-funded art.^[6]

Time Out Singapore selected it as the best Singaporean film of 2015.^[7]

Controversy

In January 2016, the film was flagged by Malaysian censors before it was due to screen at the Titian Budaya Festival. A successful appeal was made by the organiser, CultureLink, against the cuts for the vulgar phrase in Cantonese, "curse your whole family", in Jack Neo’s segment of the omnibus.^[8]

See also

• List of submissions to the 88th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
• List of Singaporean submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film

References

1. "7 Letters". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
2. Chan, Boon (8 October 2015). "One film for Singapore's 50th year from seven top local directors, including Eric Khoo and Jack Neo". Straits Times. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
3. Chan, Boon (8 October 2015). "7 Letters is Singapore's entry to the Oscars in the Best Foreign Language Film category". Straits Times. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
4. Lee, Maggie (30 September 2015). "Film Review: '7 Letters'". Variety. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
5. Soh, Joanne (5 August 2015). "7 Letters (PG)". The New Paper. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
6. Lui, John (23 July 2015). "7 beautiful stories, 1 little red dot". My Paper. Archived from the original on 4 August 2015. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
7. Lee, Benita; Pew, Gwen (25 November 2015). "Best of the arts 2015". Time Out. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
8. Chua, Genevieve (4 January 2016). "Malaysian censors take issue with Singapore films". MediaCorp. TODAY. Retrieved 6 January 2016.

External links

• 7 Letters at IMDb