Documentary backdrop image for Citizen Hustler (2020)

Documentary backdrop image for Citizen Hustler (2020)

202072 minGdocumentary

Citizen Hustler

202072 minGdocumentary

The forced closure of the Sungei Road flea market in 2017 leaves many hawkers, including a 70-year-old man with health issues, struggling for survival.

Genres

Director

Synopsis

The forced closure of the Sungei Road flea market in 2017 leaves many hawkers, including a 70-year-old man with health issues, struggling for survival.

People

Biyun Tandirector

Chan Fook Sengcast

Seah Siok Thiangcast

Synopsis

Fook Seng, a hawker in his 70s, faces uncertainty after the Sungei Road flea market's closure in 2017. With various health issues, he and his partner must navigate a complex bureaucracy to secure financial aid. Their informal trade becomes essential for survival as they confront the challenges of their new reality. The film captures their daily struggles and the negotiations required to adapt to life after the market's shutdown.

Comments

What are people saying?

Play More Like This

Bangkok's Street Food Markets are Being Shut Down (2017)

Bangkok's Street Food Markets are Being Shut Down

Thousands of street vendors in Bangkok face eviction as the city enforces a ban on street food to reclaim sidewalk space for pedestrians.

Bangkok's Street Food Markets are Being Shut Down

Fighting the migration challenge in Malaysia - Founders Valley (2/3) (2020)

Fighting the migration challenge in Malaysia - Founders Valley (2/3)

More than a third of Malaysia's gross domestic product relies on undocumented migrants, who often work in dirty, dangerous, and demeaning jobs.

Fighting the migration challenge in Malaysia - Founders Valley (2/3)

Finding and maintaining work in Australia (2024)

Finding and maintaining work in Australia

Three prominent Australians experience life on welfare for six days, confronting the challenges of survival on a low income in a struggling job market.

Finding and maintaining work in Australia

Struggle Street (2023)

Struggle Street

More than one in three young people in Mount Druitt are unemployed, facing daily struggles in a community marked by poverty and social disadvantage.

Struggle Street

From Middle Class to Homeless (2026)

From Middle Class to Homeless

In Australia, rising housing costs and systemic inequalities are driving an increasing number of women over 50 into homelessness, challenging societal perceptions of stability.

From Middle Class to Homeless

Poverty after the Pandemic: Americans in Corona-Fueled Economic Crisis (2021)

Poverty after the Pandemic: Americans in Corona-Fueled Economic Crisis

Middle-class Americans, like Marc and Selene, face dire economic challenges after the pandemic, struggling with poverty and unexpected medical expenses.

Poverty after the Pandemic: Americans in Corona-Fueled Economic Crisis

Working Full-Time But Still Poor: Australia's Cost of Living Crisis (2026)

Working Full-Time But Still Poor: Australia's Cost of Living Crisis

In inner-city Sydney, conservative journalist Caleb Bond, along with retail worker Julie Goodwin and NSW Greens MP Jenny Leong, confronts the harsh realities of low-paying jobs and the struggle to escape poverty in Australia's challenging job market.

Working Full-Time But Still Poor: Australia's Cost of Living Crisis

In China Overpopulation and Unemployment Go Hand in Hand (2016)

In China Overpopulation and Unemployment Go Hand in Hand

130 million people leave their farms in China each year to work as migrant laborers in cities, facing tough economic conditions and job competition.

In China Overpopulation and Unemployment Go Hand in Hand

Lost Job, Lost Hope? (2023)

Lost Job, Lost Hope?

Two and a half million workers in California lost their jobs at the height of the pandemic, forcing many into food lines for assistance.

Lost Job, Lost Hope?

Life in the Face of Crisis: Hope through Austerity in Modern Greece (2023)

Life in the Face of Crisis: Hope through Austerity in Modern Greece

Mary Houpis and Dimitris Kouretas showcase Greek resilience amid austerity cuts.

Life in the Face of Crisis: Hope through Austerity in Modern Greece

Explore Citizen Hustler

Trailer People FAQ

Browse more like this

Finding and maintaining work in Australia (2024)

Finding and maintaining work in Australia

Three prominent Australians experience life on welfare for six days, confronting the challenges of survival on a low income in a struggling job market.

Finding and maintaining work in Australia

No digital watch option in your country

From Middle Class to Homeless (2026)

From Middle Class to Homeless

In Australia, rising housing costs and systemic inequalities are driving an increasing number of women over 50 into homelessness, challenging societal perceptions of stability.

From Middle Class to Homeless

No digital watch option in your country

Working Full-Time But Still Poor: Australia's Cost of Living Crisis (2026)

Working Full-Time But Still Poor: Australia's Cost of Living Crisis

In inner-city Sydney, conservative journalist Caleb Bond, along with retail worker Julie Goodwin and NSW Greens MP Jenny Leong, confronts the harsh realities of low-paying jobs and the struggle to escape poverty in Australia's challenging job market.

Working Full-Time But Still Poor: Australia's Cost of Living Crisis

No digital watch option in your country

Lost Job, Lost Hope? (2023)

Lost Job, Lost Hope?

Two and a half million workers in California lost their jobs at the height of the pandemic, forcing many into food lines for assistance.

Lost Job, Lost Hope?

No digital watch option in your country

Love Without Clutching Leave Without Guilt (2022)

Love Without Clutching Leave Without Guilt

2022•1h17m•★3.0TMDB

On Lingtan Street, a lesbian bookshop owner and her neighbors navigate personal challenges while forming supportive connections within their community.

Love Without Clutching Leave Without Guilt

Ninth Uncle (2014)

Ninth Uncle

2014•1h14m•★6.0TMDB

After over 30 years managing the night market, a nearly 70-year-old man faces the impending reconstruction of Zhong Shan Road and the loss of his livelihood.

Loss Won't Pay the Bills (2018)

Loss Won't Pay the Bills

2018•1h4m•★8.0TMDB

Adrie works 14 to 16 hours a day at his greengrocer's shop in Flushing, which has been in operation for 65 years.

Loss Won't Pay the Bills

Mayday! May day! Mayday! (2022)

Mayday! May day! Mayday!

2022•1h6m•★9.0TMDB

Five years into their strike, workers continue to struggle to make ends meet, with Deni Purba selling used clothes after his release from prison.

Mayday! May day! Mayday!

Travelling Hawkers in Frankfurt am Main (1932)

Travelling Hawkers in Frankfurt am Main

1932•22m•★6.2TMDB

Desperate vendors hustle in Frankfurt, evading police for survival.

Travelling Hawkers in Frankfurt am Main

Stories of Pang Jai (2020)

Stories of Pang Jai

2020•50m•★6.0TMDB

In Sham Shui Po, cloth vendors fight against government plans to resume land for housing, risking their livelihoods in a city where land is extremely expensive.

Stories of Pang Jai

Trespass: Stories from Singapore's Thieves Market (2019)

Trespass: Stories from Singapore's Thieves Market

In 2017, the Sungei Road Thieves Market, which had been operating for over 30 years before Singapore's founding, closed its doors for good.

Trespass: Stories from Singapore's Thieves Market

City Dream (2019)

City Dream

An elderly street vendor in Wuhan faces the loss of his business due to the construction of a new retail district.

Unknown (2023)

Unknown

Many street barber stalls under Hutoushan serve senior citizens and working people, creating a traditional space for connection and community.

Aproposessexstreetmarket (2018)

Aproposessexstreetmarket

Essex Street Market in New York City features vendors selling fresh produce and fosters daily interactions among community members.

Aproposessexstreetmarket

Is this your film?

If you made this film or hold the rights to it, we'd like to talk. We can license it and pay you a share of what it earns.

License it with us →