15 (film)

2003 Singaporean film directed by Royston Tan December 2019 15 15film.jpg Theatrical poster Royston Tan Tan Fong ChengEric Khoo Royston Tan Shaun TanMelvin ChenErick ChunVynn SohMelvin Lee Yellowbox Lim Ching Leong Jeff StevensNigel Fernandez Zhao Wei Films 2003 4 27 y 96 minutes Singapore HokkienMandarin 15 is a 2003 Singaporean coming-of-age black comedy-drama film about teenage gangsters in the Singapore suburbs. Directed by Royston Tan, the film is an expanded version of Tan's 2002 award-winning short film, also titled 15. It is one of the few Singaporean films to feature brief full-frontal male nudity, together with the Singaporean-Thai film Pleasure Factory and the Singaporean-Hong Kong film Bugis Street. Plot The film stars three real-life juvenile gangsters, all aged 15, giving an accurate depiction of Chinese teenage gang-life in the Singapore suburbs. The 2003 film features two more gangsters as characters as well as a fight sequence with more affluent English-educated Singapore youths. Rather than scripting the movie or employing professional actors, Tan attempted to capture the troubled lives of his characters in realistic fashion, apparently without much prior scripting. Production The Singapore Film Commission funded 25% of 15's S$200,000 production costs.Aglionby John 2004-01-05 Police censor fly-on-wall tale of gang life https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/jan/05/film.filmcensorship 2026-05-12 The Guardian en-GB 0261-3077 Release In Singapore, the film premiered during the 2003 Singapore International Film Festival.https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0344766/releaseinfo/ 15: The Movie (2003) - Release info - IMDb www.imdb.com In 2003, it premiered in Canada during the Montreal World Film Festival, and in Britain during the London Film Festival. In 2004, it premiered in the United States during the Sundance Film Festival, and in Australia during the Sydney Film Festival. The film also saw its first US theatrical release in New York City on 13 April 2005.15 15. In Singapore, the film is distributed by Zhao Wei Films. In North America, it is distributed by Picture This! Entertainment.https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0344766/companycredits/ 15: The Movie (2003) - Company credits - IMDb www.imdb.com Reception Censorship While the Media Development Authority (MDA) ruled that the film should be passed uncut under the then R(A) rating, the Singapore Police Force was concerned that fights could break out given the use of real gang names, locations and secret society chants in the movie, requesting cuts/edits to be made through the MDA for law and order reasons.0344766 15. Under pressure, Tan alleged MDA required 27 cuts to the film which it denied, citing it requested nine cuts but Tan had chosen to cut in a way that it required 27 cuts."Take a big breath, you'll survive." https://web.archive.org/web/20090211221050/http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?we_cat=7&art_id=23671&sid=9022393&con_type=1&d_str=20060727&fc=1 11 February 2009 The Standard. 27 July 2006. Opposition was also raised against the heavy use of Hokkien in the film,Writer Guest 2022-09-21 Tattoos of the Singaporean Society: 15: The Movie (2003) by Royston Tan https://asianmoviepulse.com/2022/09/15-the-movie-2003-by-royston-tan/ 2026-05-12 Asian Movie Pulse en-USFilm Review: '15' ThingsAsian https://thingsasian.com/node/2857.html 2026-05-12 thingsasian.comMay 2008 which is discouraged by the Singapore government in favour of Mandarin and English.2014-12-21 Afterimage: The Films of Singapore's Royston Tan https://bampfa.org/program/afterimage-films-singapores-royston-tan 2026-05-12 BAMPFA en Tan's unblinking outlook was new to the island republic and the Singapore Board of Film Censors responded with equal ferocity, requesting dozens of cuts, even objecting to the use of Hokkien, a Chinese dialect scorned by the government. These restrictions infuriated Tan, and later led him to create his satirical short film Cut. Critical response On Rotten Tomatoes it has an approval rating of 50% based on 10 reviews.movie fifteen April 26, 2025 On Metacritic the film has a score of 47% based on six reviews, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.movie 15-the-movie April 26, 2025 The film has been advertised outside of Singapore in gay publications, due to the heavy homoerotic tension between the characters. However, in an interview segment of the DVD Royston's Shorts, a collection of Tan's short films, Tan affirms that the boys whose lives he portrayed do not identify as gay. Awards FIPRESCI/NETPAC Award, Singapore International Film Festival (2003)https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0344766/awards/ 15: The Movie (2003) - Awards - IMDb www.imdb.com Best Fiction, Tampere International Short Film Festival (2003) Prize of the Youth Film Competition (Special Mention), Oberhausen International Short Film Festival (2003)http://www.kurzfilmtage.de/en/looking-back/2003/award-winners.html Internationale Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen: 2003 Award Winners. 25 January 2019 17 October 2014 https://web.archive.org/web/20141017104905/http://www.kurzfilmtage.de/en/looking-back/2003/award-winners.html dead Grand Prix Asturias (nominated), Gijón International Film Festival (2003) Best Director, Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema (2004)http://www.bafici.gov.ar/bafici_10/premios_anteriores_e.php#6 6th Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente: Winners. 30 May 2008 20 August 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200820072954/http://www.bafici.gov.ar/bafici_10/premios_anteriores_e.php#6 dead See also List of Singaporean films Nudity in film (East Asian cinema since 1929) Notes References Reviews Bradshaw, Peter. Review. The Guardian. 4 February 2005. Dawson, Tom. Review. BBC. 1 February 2005. Elley, Derek. Sundance 2004 review. https://web.archive.org/web/20090727101246/http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117921999.html?categoryid=31&cs=1 27 July 2009 Variety. 30 September 2003. Fox, Ken. Review. TV Guide. 15 April 2005. French, Philip. Review. The Observer. 6 February 2005. Johnson, G. Allen. Review. San Francisco Chronicle. 10 June 2005. Ng, David. "Thirteen+2: Aimless Singaporean rebels in directionless youth flick." The Village Voice. 5 April 2005. Smith, Matthew. Review. Film Journal International. 27 October 2005. Stevens, Dana. "Young and Adrift in Singapore." The New York Times. 13 April 2005. Walsh, Brian. "Street Survivors". Time. 1 September 2003. External links https://web.archive.org/web/20080828202307/https://www.zhaowei.com/15synopsis.html 15: The Movie 0344766 fifteen 15 15 15 15 Category:2003 teen films Category:Films set in Singapore 15: The Movie Category:Singaporean independent films Category:2000s Hokkien-language films Category:2003 Mandarin-language films 15: The Movie Category:2003 independent films Category:Singaporean teen films Category:2003 crime drama films Category:2003 Singaporean films