Acting
128 CIRCLE tells the stories of hawkers at a Food Centre in Singapore that has been at the heart of the community’s lives for almost four decades. These are the people – the human faces – behind the familiar food staples we have grown up with, and grow old with, in our neighbourhood. And these are stories of the ups and downs, the inspiration and the perspiration, of the challenges and the joys of being at the beating heart of a cultural heritage that has endured from the early days of Singapore’s history.
Zhao Di takes over her family farm with the help of Ah Long after the 1969 floods. After the government started reclaiming land for development in 1977, licensed owners like Zhao Di are compensated but her brother accuses her of having an affair with Ah Long to get the money for himself. Meanwhile, Osman does not approve of his son playing in a rock band as he fears the negative influence, causing his son to run away from home. As for Ah Hee and Rani, they decide to get married but their traditional parents are against it.
The story spans from 1965 to the early 1970s. Heavily pregnant Zhao Di, the unwanted second wife of an older man, was chased out by her husband's family and forced to return to her own family. She gave birth to a pair of twins, Shun Fatt and Su-mei. As Su-mei had two moles on her face, which was said to be bad luck, she decided to give her up due to the pressure of wanting to build a better life for the rest of her family.
In a world where food has been outlawed, a small band of food lovers risks their skins to defy the authorities and feast on contraband food.
