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Ken Kwek

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In this Chinese name, the family name is Kwek.
Ken Kwek
Kwek speaks at "Telling Stories Live" in 2015
Born (1979-05-07) 7 May 1979 (age 45)
Singapore
Alma mater
Occupations
  • Screenwriter
  • director
  • playwright
  • author
SpousePamela Oei
Children1
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese郭智軒
Simplified Chinese郭智轩
Hanyu PinyinGuō Zhìxuān

Ken Kwek (born 7 May 1979) is a Singaporean screenwriter, director, playwright and author. His short film compendium, Sex.Violence.FamilyValues,[1] was banned by the Singapore and Malaysian governments in 2012.[2] His first feature film Unlucky Plaza premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2014.[3] His second feature #LookAtMe premiered at the New York Asian Film Festival in 2022, to critical acclaim.[4] He has written several full-length plays, including the #MeToo drama, This Is What Happens To Pretty Girls, which premiered in Singapore in 2019.[5] He is also the author of several best-selling children’s books including Kelly and the Krumps, which won the Hedwig Anuar Book Award in 2020.[6]

Career

[edit]

After graduating from the University of Cambridge in 2003, Kwek worked as a camera assistant on various film productions in the United Kingdom. During this time, he also shot and produced The Ballad of Vicki and Jake,[7] a documentary about a heroin addict struggling to raise her 11-year-old son in the ghettos of Bristol. The film won the Best Newcomer Award at the 2006 Visions Du Reel Film Festival in Switzerland.[8]

In 2008, after a three-year stint as a newspaper journalist, Kwek returned to filmmaking. He penned The Blue Mansion, a satirical comedy of manners. He also co-wrote the crime thriller Kidnapper and the period musical comedy It's a Great, Great World with director Kelvin Tong.

In 2011, Kwek directed a trio of short films, Sex.Violence.FamilyValues. The component films, Cartoons, Porn Masala and The Bouncer, were selected for the Miami International Short Film Festival, Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival, Seoul International Youth Film Festival and Sydney Underground Film Festival, amongst others. Porn Masala won the Audience Choice Award (Short Film) at the Gotham Screen Film Festival[9] and was nominated for Best Comedy at the Super Shorts Film Festival in London.[10]

In 2012, Sex.Violence.FamilyValues was acquired by distributor Cathay, the first Singapore omnibus film to get a major theatrical release in Singapore. However, on 8 October 2012, just three days before the film's slated release, Singapore's Media Development Authority (MDA) revoked the film's M18 rating and banned it, citing public complaints about the film trailers' "racially offensive" content.[11] The ban ignited a debate about censorship in Singapore's Parliament.[12]

Kwek's first feature film, Unlucky Plaza (2014) made its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September and opened the Singapore International Film Festival in December.[13] In January 2016, the film was withdrawn from Kuala Lumpur's Titian Budaya Festival after Malaysian censors requested eight to ten edits to it, including its sex scenes and language.[14] Unlucky Plaza opened in the United States in the same month, playing in New York City and Los Angeles. The film, which travelled to various film festivals, including the Warsaw Film Festival, Kolkata International Film Festival, International Film Festival Manhattan (where Quizon picked up the Best Actor award) and the Tehran Jasmine Film Festival (where Kwek won the Best Director prize), was also released in the Philippines.[15]

In 2020, Kwek directed The Pitch, a short comedy about the trials of three real-life theatre companies, Singapore Repertory Theatre, Wild Rice and Pangdemonium, struggling to survive the COVID-19 pandemic.[16][17] The film won a Merit Award at the Global Shorts Film Awards.[18] The Pitch was followed up by a full-length stage sequel, The Commission, which premiered at the Singapore International Festival of Arts in 2021.[19] Kwek’s other full-length works for the theatre include the political satire Apocalypse: LIVE!, which premiered at the OCBC Singapore Theatre Festival in 2008,[20] and the critically-acclaimed MeToo drama This Is What Happens To Pretty Girls (2019). In 2018 Kwek started writing fiction, including books for children. His first book, Timothy And The Phubbers,[21] was a national bestseller and his second, Kelly And The Krumps, was awarded the prestigious Hedwig Anuar Book Award.[22][23]

Kwek was appointed Show Film Director for Singapore's National Day Parade in 2022.[24] That same year, he released #LookAtMe, an LGBTQ themed neo-noir thriller, under his production company, Eko Pictures.[25] The film premiered at the New York Asian Film Festival to critical acclaim and won a Special Jury Mention for Best Performer for its lead actor, Yao. [26]

Personal life

[edit]

Kwek is married to actress Pamela Oei, and they have one son.[27][28][29]

Filmography

[edit]

Feature films

[edit]
Year Film Notes Ref
2005 The Ballad of Vicki and Jake Documentary film, as producer and writer
2009 The Blue Mansion As writer [30]
2010 Kidnapper As writer [30]
2012 Sex.Violence.FamilyValues Film anthology consisting of Cartoons, Porn Masala and The Bouncer

As director, producer and writer

2011 It's a Great, Great World As writer [30]
2014 Unlucky Plaza As director, producer and writer
2022 #LookAtMe As director, producer and writer

Screenplays

[edit]
Year Title Notes Ref
2014 Unlucky Plaza
2018 Republic of Food [31]
2019 Trafficker [32]
2020 Reappear [33]

Short films

[edit]
Year Film Notes Ref
2011 Cartoons Collected in Sex.Violence.FamilyValues as part of anthology
2011 Porn Masala Collected in Sex.Violence.FamilyValues as part of anthology
2012 The Bouncer Collected in Sex.Violence.FamilyValues as part of anthology [34]
2020 The Pitch
2023 A Closed system

Music videos

[edit]
Year Song title Notes Ref
2015 Riot City [35]
2019 You Can't Touch Me Now [36]

Theatre

[edit]
Year Title Notes Ref
2008 I’ll Have The Special [37]
2008 Apocalypse Live! [38]
2008 Real Actors [39]
2009 The Composer [40]
2019 This Is What Happens To Pretty Girls [41]
2020 The Zoologist Online Play [42]
2021 The Commission [43]

Bibliography

[edit]
  • Kwek, Ken (2018). Timothy and the Phubbers. Epigram Books. ISBN 978-981-4757-98-0.
  • Kwek, Ken (2019). Kelly and the Krumps. Epigram Books. ISBN 978-981-17006-8-2.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Sex.Violence.FamilyValues Archived 26 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Svfv.com.sg.
  2. ^ Singapore bans satirical local film – Yahoo! Entertainment Singapore Archived 28 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Sg.entertainment.yahoo.com (10 October 2012).
  3. ^ Lui, John (12 November 2014). "Singapore film festival opening film Unlucky Plaza is entertaining and has depth, says festival director". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 16 February 2019. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  4. ^ "#LookAtMe (2022) External reviews". IMDB - External reviews. 1 October 2022. Archived from the original on 1 October 2022. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  5. ^ Steel, Emily (July 2019). "In Singapore, a #MeToo Play Sparks Discussion on Sexual Misconduct". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 6 July 2019. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  6. ^ migration (10 October 2020). "Writer-director wins children's book prize". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 26 April 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  7. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 8 October 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. ^ Film Archive: Visions du Réel – Nyon – 19 au 26 avril 2013 Archived 16 January 2013 at archive.today. Visionsdureel.ch.
  9. ^ "/ 5th Gotham Screen Film Festival results". Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  10. ^ SUPERSHORTS FILM FESTIVAL 2: Best Doc and Comedy | Hackney Picturehouse | London Archived 13 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Picturehouses.co.uk (2 January 2013).
  11. ^ "cinemaonline.sg: "Sex.Violence.FamilyValues" banned". www.cinemaonline.sg. Archived from the original on 31 July 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  12. ^ MCI's response to the PQs on the film ‘Sex.Violence.FamilyValues’ Archived 1 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Mci.gov.sg (4 December 2013).
  13. ^ Yip, Wai Yee (2 October 2014). "Ken Kwek's Unlucky Plaza to open the Singapore International Film Festival". Singapore Press Holdings. The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 5 October 2014. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
  14. ^ Chua, Genevieve (4 January 2016). "Malaysian censors take issue with Singapore films". MediaCorp. TODAY. Archived from the original on 5 January 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  15. ^ Chua, Genevieve (31 December 2015). "S'pore film Unlucky Plaza to show in US". MediaCorp. TODAY. Archived from the original on 1 January 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  16. ^ "The Pitch - A Co-Production of Pangdemonium, Singapore Repertory Theatre and WILD RICE". #ThePitchSG. Archived from the original on 26 April 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  17. ^ Nurjuwita, Dewi. "Singapore's three biggest theatre companies premiere short film 'The Pitch'". Time Out Singapore. Archived from the original on 26 April 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  18. ^ "Global shorts award". www.global-shorts.net. Archived from the original on 16 April 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  19. ^ Chia, Kai Lin. "The Commission". sifa.sg. Archived from the original on 26 April 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  20. ^ Kolesnikov-Jessop, Sonia (14 August 2008). "OCBC festival: Taking a closer look at life in Singapore". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 16 February 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  21. ^ hermes (19 June 2018). "Bestsellers". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 26 April 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  22. ^ "Hedwig Anuar Children's Book Award 2020 To Be Virtual". Archived from the original on 26 April 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  23. ^ hermesauto (9 October 2020). "Film-maker Ken Kwek wins children's book award with funny novel where exam pressure meets hip-hop". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 26 April 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  24. ^ "NDP 2022 to celebrate all Singaporeans who helped the country weather COVID-19". Channel News Asia. 29 June 2022. Archived from the original on 1 October 2022. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  25. ^ "Ken Kwek's #LookAtMe to premiere at New York Asian Film Festival". The Straits Times. 11 July 2022. Archived from the original on 1 October 2022. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  26. ^ "'Perhaps Love', 'Chilli Laugh Story' win NYAFF audience awards". Screen Daily. 2 August 2022. Archived from the original on 11 August 2022. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  27. ^ "How Luck Played its Part in Ken Kwek's Unlucky Plaza". Female. 14 April 2015. Archived from the original on 3 June 2019. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  28. ^ migration (22 August 2014). "Ken Kwek's new movie Unlucky Plaza looking for distributor". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 3 June 2019. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  29. ^ "Story Writing Workshop for Children: Why I Write". Peatix. Archived from the original on 3 June 2019. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  30. ^ a b c "Creative Capital: Ken Kwek, the introverted auteur who finds his voice in films and plays". CNA. Archived from the original on 18 October 2022. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  31. ^ "Kelvin Tong Looks Back at 20 Years of Directing Movies: From 'Eating Air' to 'The Maid' To 'Republic of Food'". TODAYonline. Archived from the original on 31 July 2023. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  32. ^ "Creative Capital: Ken Kwek, the introverted auteur who finds his voice in films and plays". CNA. Archived from the original on 27 April 2019. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  33. ^ Staff, C. M. G. (12 August 2020). "Toronto Motorcycle Film Festival announces 2020 lineup". Canada Moto Guide. Archived from the original on 26 April 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  34. ^ "Ghost in the machine: Singapore films in 2012". www.fareastfilm.com (in Italian). Archived from the original on 14 October 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  35. ^ Lim, Ry-anne (9 April 2018). "Pam Oei writes song about late friend Emma Yong for band's new album". The New Paper. Archived from the original on 31 July 2023. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  36. ^ "Actress Pam Oei and her band play tennis to smash bigotry in new music video". CNA Lifestyle. Archived from the original on 19 April 2019. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  37. ^ "Short+Sweet is very proud to be the first to stage a play by Ken Kwek". Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  38. ^ Kolesnikov-Jessop, Sonia (14 August 2008). "OCBC festival: Taking a closer look at life in Singapore". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 16 February 2019. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  39. ^ "FLYING INKPOT THEATRE REVIEW: Do Not Disturb - Late Checkout, Please by Tan Kheng Hua and Janice Koh". inkpotreviews.com. Archived from the original on 16 February 2019. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  40. ^ "Blinding Bling! Unbridled Lust! Virgins!". TODAYonline. Archived from the original on 31 July 2023. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  41. ^ "The next original Pangdemonium script". sgmagazine.com. 8 April 2019. Archived from the original on 27 November 2019. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  42. ^ hermesauto (27 May 2020). "Review: The Coronalogues is a brave but flawed experiment in theatre making on a digital platform". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 26 April 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  43. ^ "Travel the world through the arts". www.businesstimes.com.sg. Archived from the original on 26 April 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
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