Sepet


Sepet is a 2005 Malaysian teen 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

A 19-year-old Ah Loong is in charge of a stall selling unlicensed 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 favourite 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 didn't 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

YearAwardCategoryRecipientsResult
200518th Tokyo International Film FestivalBest Asian Film Award
2005Ninth Malaysian Video AwardsBest Film
200527th Créteil International Women's Film Festival in FranceBest Film
200518th Malaysia Film FestivalBest Film
200518th Malaysia Film FestivalBest Original ScreenplayYasmin Ahmad
200518th Malaysia Film FestivalBest Supporting ActressIda Nerina
200518th Malaysia Film FestivalBest Supporting ActressAdibah Noor
200518th Malaysia Film FestivalMost Promising ActorNg Choo Seong
200518th Malaysia Film FestivalMost Promising ActressSharifah Amani
200518th Malaysia Film FestivalBest Poster
200518th Malaysia Film FestivalBest DirectorYasmin Ahmad
200518th Malaysia Film FestivalBest Supporting ActorHarith Iskander
200518th Malaysia Film FestivalBest EditorAffandi Jamaludin
2005Global Chinese Golden Arts AwardsBest Film
2005Anugerah EraBest 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.