I Not Stupid

I Not Stupid (2002)

小孩不笨

Kok Pin, Boon Hock and Terry are classmates in "EM3" stream. In Singapore, that means that at the age of 12, the government has decided that they are not as academically inclined as their peers. Kok Pin is creative and a born artist but his parents would rather he focus on his Maths and Sciences. Boon Hock comes from a low-income family and needs to balance school and helping out at the food stall. Terry, a spoilt brat is just too lazy a student. While the three children suffer from the pressure of school, their parents have another set of problems - their jobs and careers.

Date of release
2002-02-09
TMDB
6.7 / 10 (23)
Runtime
1h 45m
Genres
Comedy
Director
Jack Neo
Collection
小孩不笨 (系列)

Casting

Interesting facts

I Not Stupid is a 2002 Singaporean comedy film about the lives, struggles and adventures of three Singaporean Primary 6 pupils who are placed in the academically inferior EM3 stream. Written and directed by Jack Neo, and produced by Mediacorp Raintree Pictures, the film stars Huang Po Ju, Shawn Lee, Joshua Ang, Cheryl Desiree Chan, Xiang Yun, Jack Neo, Richard Low and Selena Tan.

Production

After speaking with parents to find topics to discuss in his film, Jack Neo learned that due to problems with the Singaporean education system, specifically streaming, students face considerable academic and emotional stress. This problem formed the core of his film, which he called I Not Stupid in reference to the social stigma that streaming places on students.

Neo also drew on a dissatisfaction he felt with the way the school system promoted deference to authority over self-reliance; he wanted his film to tell youth "If you don't want to change or make a difference, you won't. It's all up to you". In exploring these ideas, Neo spent over two years researching and editing the script — checking scenes for accuracy, verifying facts, and drafting dialogue.

This production was carried out by Raintree Pictures on a budget of S$900,000, sponsored by Bee Cheng Hiang, Yeo Hiap Seng and Sunshine Bakeries. The production crew included Daniel Yun as executive producer, David Leong and Chan Pui Yin as producers, Ardy Lam as cinematographer and Li Yi as music supervisor. In addition to writing and directing, Neo also composed the theme song, which was sung by Chen Guorong.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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