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7 ‘Love Letters’ to Singapore in SG50 Film!

By InCinemas / 02 Dec 2014 (Tuesday)

Seven of Singapore’s most prolific film directors (Royston Tan, Jack Neo, Eric Khoo, Kelvin Tong, K Rajagopal, Tan Pin Pin and Boo Junfeng) have gathered to create a one-of-a-kind anthology to celebrate Singapore’s 50th birthday.

Titled ‘7 Letters’, the film revolves around the theme of ‘home’ and each short film tells a unique story of Singapore and its people through tales of lost love, identity, inter-generational familial bonds and tensions. Expect drama, comedy, romance, Chinese Opera and even a musical packed into this special film, which will premiere in July 2015 at the refurbished Capitol Theatre.

(Head over to 7 Letters Facebook page for more updates!)

“I think as we approach the celebration of Singapore’s 50th birthday, we as a film community, we wanted to contribute to this celebration and we decided to embark on a personal journey to tell stories of Singapore that inspire us,” said Royston Tan at the press conference earlier today. “This gesture is like writing a personal love letter to Singapore and hence, (the title) ‘7 Letters’.”

Cultural Medallion recipient Eric Khoo shared that his short will be a musical on the golden age of cinema.

He added: “Mine is really a tribute to the pioneer generation of filmmakers… spanning from 1965 all the way to the present.

I had this idea of cinema and starting thinking back of the old local films that I used to watch as a boy and so it (the idea) came very fast and I decided to shoot it!”

For Singapore’s box office hit-maker Jack Neo, his short will featuring a puppy love story between a kampong boy and girl - in Hokkien.

“Since this is about SG50, I wanted to do a story that I’ve never told before and I wanted to have it all in Hokkien… because the film is set in 1965, so there’s no reason the censor board will not happy, right?” he quipped.

“There will definitely be some comedy elements in my film, but what’s more important is to capture the essence of how it was like living in the 1960s,” added ‘kampong boy’ Neo, who shared that his kampong days were some of the fondest memories he had growing up.

Royston Tan will also be featuring his film around the ‘kampong spirit’, which is rarely seen today. “I think I really want to show this aspect to Singapore and perhaps remind the younger generation about it… I want to bring it back to the simple life we have used to experience. No mobile phones, just human-to-human condition.”

Apart from these illustrious film directors, local arts personalities like music composer Ricky Ho, Patrick Chng, local artist Koh Hong Teng, Larry Peh, Rahimah Rahim and playwright Alfian Sa’at are also onboard the one-of-a-kind film project.

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7 ‘Love Letters’ to Singapore in SG50 Film!