Ken Kwek
Birth date7 May 1979 (age 47)
Birth placeSingapore
Alma mater
OccupationScreenwriter · director · playwright · author
Ken Kwek
Hideno
Headercolorlightblue
T郭智軒
S郭智轩
PGuō 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

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

Kwek has one son with Pamela Oei.[27][28][29]

Filmography

Feature films

YearFilmNotesRef
2005The Ballad of Vicki and JakeDocumentary film, as producer and writer
2009The Blue MansionAs writer[30]
2010KidnapperAs writer[30]
2012Sex.Violence.FamilyValuesFilm anthology consisting of Cartoons, Porn Masala and The Bouncer As director, producer and writer
2011It's a Great, Great WorldAs writer[30]
2014Unlucky PlazaAs director, producer and writer
2022#LookAtMeAs director, producer and writer

Screenplays

YearTitleNotesRef
2014Unlucky Plaza
2018Republic of Food[31]
2019Trafficker[32]
2020Reappear[33]

Short films

YearFilmNotesRef
2011CartoonsCollected in Sex.Violence.FamilyValues as part of anthology
2011Porn MasalaCollected in Sex.Violence.FamilyValues as part of anthology
2012The BouncerCollected in Sex.Violence.FamilyValues as part of anthology[34]
2020The Pitch
2023A Closed system

Music videos

YearSong titleNotesRef
2015Riot City[35]
2019You Can't Touch Me Now[36]

Theatre

YearTitleNotesRef
2008I’ll Have The Special[37]
2008Apocalypse Live![38]
2008Real Actors[39]
2009The Composer[40]
2019This Is What Happens To Pretty Girls[41]
2020The ZoologistOnline Play[42]
2021The Commission[43]

Bibliography

References

  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 16 February 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  4. ^ "#LookAtMe (2022) External reviews". IMDB - External reviews. 1 October 2022. Archived 1 October 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  5. ^ Steel, Emily (July 2019). "In Singapore, a #MeToo Play Sparks Discussion on Sexual Misconduct". The New York Times. Archived 6 July 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  6. ^ Ho, Olivia (2020-10-10). "Writer-director wins children's book prize". The Straits Times. Archived 26 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
  7. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 8 October 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  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 14 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine. 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 31 July 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-07-31.
  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 5 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  15. ^ Chua, Genevieve (31 December 2015). "S'pore film Unlucky Plaza to show in US". MediaCorp. TODAY. Archived 1 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  16. ^ "The Pitch - A Co-Production of Pangdemonium, Singapore Repertory Theatre and WILD RICE". #ThePitchSG. Archived 26 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
  17. ^ Nurjuwita, Dewi. "Singapore's three biggest theatre companies premiere short film 'The Pitch'". Time Out Singapore. Archived 26 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
  18. ^ "Global shorts award". www.global-shorts.net. 28 September 2016. Archived 16 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  19. ^ Chia, Kai Lin. "The Commission". sifa.sg. Archived 26 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
  20. ^ Kolesnikov-Jessop, Sonia (2008-08-14). "OCBC festival: Taking a closer look at life in Singapore". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived 16 February 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
  21. ^ "Bestsellers". The Straits Times. 2018-06-19. Archived from the original on 26 April 2021. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
  22. ^ "Hedwig Anuar Children's Book Award 2020 To Be Virtual". Archived 26 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
  23. ^ Ho, Olivia (2020-10-09). "Film-maker Ken Kwek wins children's book award with funny novel where exam pressure meets hip-hop". The Straits Times. Archived 26 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
  24. ^ "NDP 2022 to celebrate all Singaporeans who helped the country weather COVID-19". Channel News Asia. 29 June 2022. Archived 1 October 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  25. ^ "Ken Kwek's #LookAtMe to premiere at New York Asian Film Festival". The Straits Times. 11 July 2022. Archived 1 October 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  26. ^ "'Perhaps Love', 'Chilli Laugh Story' win NYAFF audience awards". Screen Daily. 2 August 2022. Archived 11 August 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  27. ^ "How Luck Played its Part in Ken Kwek's Unlucky Plaza". Female. 2015-04-14. Archived 3 June 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-03-01.
  28. ^ Lui, John (2014-08-22). "Ken Kwek's new movie Unlucky Plaza looking for distributor". The Straits Times. Archived 3 June 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-03-01.
  29. ^ "Story Writing Workshop for Children: Why I Write". Peatix. Archived 3 June 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-03-01.
  30. ^ "Creative Capital: Ken Kwek, the introverted auteur who finds his voice in films and plays". CNA. Archived 18 October 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2022-10-18.
  31. ^ "Kelvin Tong Looks Back at 20 Years of Directing Movies: From 'Eating Air' to 'The Maid' To 'Republic of Food'". TODAYonline. Archived 31 July 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-11-27.
  32. ^ "Creative Capital: Ken Kwek, the introverted auteur who finds his voice in films and plays". CNA. Archived 27 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-11-27.
  33. ^ Staff, C. M. G. (2020-08-12). "Toronto Motorcycle Film Festival announces 2020 lineup". Canada Moto Guide. Archived 26 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
  34. ^ "Ghost in the machine: Singapore films in 2012" (in Italian). www.fareastfilm.com. Archived 14 October 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2022-10-14.
  35. ^ Lim, Ry-anne (2018-04-09). "Pam Oei writes song about late friend Emma Yong for band's new album". The New Paper. Archived 31 July 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-11-27.
  36. ^ "Actress Pam Oei and her band play tennis to smash bigotry in new music video". CNA Lifestyle. Archived 19 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-11-27.
  37. ^ "Short+Sweet is very proud to be the first to stage a play by Ken Kwek". Archived 27 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  38. ^ Kolesnikov-Jessop, Sonia (2008-08-14). "OCBC festival: Taking a closer look at life in Singapore". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived 16 February 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-11-27.
  39. ^ "FLYING INKPOT THEATRE REVIEW: Do Not Disturb - Late Checkout, Please by Tan Kheng Hua and Janice Koh". inkpotreviews.com. Archived 16 February 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-11-27.
  40. ^ "Blinding Bling! Unbridled Lust! Virgins!". TODAYonline. Archived 31 July 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-11-27.
  41. ^ "The next original Pangdemonium script". sgmagazine.com. 2019-04-08. Archived 27 November 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-11-27.
  42. ^ Sor Fern, Ong (2020-05-27). "Review: The Coronalogues is a brave but flawed experiment in theatre making on a digital platform". The Straits Times. Archived 26 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
  43. ^ "Travel the world through the arts". www.businesstimes.com.sg. 18 March 2021. Archived 26 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 26 April 2021.