Sepet

Sepet Slit Eye
Sepet film poster
Directed by	Yasmin Ahmad
Produced by	Rosnah Kassim Elyna Shukri
Written by	Yasmin Ahmad
Starring	Ng Choo Seong as Jason (Ah Loong) Sharifah Amani as Orked Linus Chung as Keong Harith Iskandar as Pak Atan Ida Nerina as Mak Inom Adibah Noor as Kak Yam Tan Mei Ling as Ma Thor Kar Hoong as Pa
Cinematography	Low Soon Keong
Editing by	Affandi Jamaludin
Release date(s)	February 24, 2005
Running time	104 minutes
Country	Malaysia
Language	English Malay Cantonese Hokkien Mandarin

Sepet is a 2004 Malaysian romantic comedy drama film set in Ipoh, Malaysia. Directed by Yasmin Ahmad, it tells a tale of a love that blooms between a Chinese boy and a Malay girl. Sepet is a Malay word which, in this context, refers to the 'slit eyes' of the Chinese.

Plot

19-year old Ah Loong (who also called himself "Jason") is in charge of a stall selling pirated VCDs. Contrary to the stereotype of his social standing, Ah Loong is an incurable romantic with an unlikely hobby: He loves to read and write poetry. Quite content with being the Romeo of the slums, Ah Loong's life takes a sudden turn one day when a Malay schoolgirl, Orked, arrives at his stall while looking for films starring her favorite actor Takeshi Kaneshiro. Love blossoms between Orked and Ah Loong, although there are social and racial pressures that stand in their way.

In the end, Ah Loong is involved in a motor vehicle accident while Orked is going to England to pursue her studies. It is not clear if he lived or died until the sequel, Gubra which shows that Jason really did die. After the credits finish rolling however, Orked is shown wearing a wedding ring sleeping beside Jason, who also has a wedding ring. In Mukhsin, Jason and the adult Orked are shown to be living together. However, the adult Orked is not called by her name in this scene as the young Orked is.

Cast

• Choo Seong Ng as Jason (Ah Loong)
• Sharifah Amani as Orked
• Linus Chung as Keong
• Mei Ling Tan as Mah (Ah Loong's mother)
• Ida Nerina as Mak (Orked's mother)
• Harith Iskander as Abah (Orked's father)
• Adibah Noor as Kak Yam
• Kar Hoong Thor as Pah (Ah Loong's father)
• Zehan Marissa as Lin

Awards

18th Tokyo International Film Festival 2005

• Best Asian Film Award

Ninth Malaysian Video Awards

• Best Film

27th Créteil International Women's Film Festival in France

• Best Film

18th Malaysian Film Festival

• Best Film
• Best Original Screenplay (Yasmin Ahmad)
• Best Poster
• Best Supporting Actress (Ida Nerina)
• Most Promising Actor (Ng Choo Seong)
• Most Promising Actress (Sharifah Amani)

Global Chinese Golden Arts Awards

• Best Film

Anugerah Era 2005

• Best Film

Sequels

The sequel to Sepet, called Gubra, was filmed in Ipoh, Malaysia and released in 2006. The third movie in Yasmin Ahmad's Orked trilogy is a prequel to both Sepet and Gubra, titled Mukhsin.

External links

• Official site
• Sepet at the Internet Movie Database