{{Short description|Singaporean film director}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2022}} '''Wee Li Lin''' (born 1973) is a Singaporean director known for directing the feature films ''Gone Shopping'' and ''Forever'', as well as several short films, such as ''Centrepoint KidZ''.
==Early life and education== When she was young, she would "trawl" the video library or go to the cinemas by herself on weekends.<ref name = "Tan">{{cite news |last= Tan|first= Dylan|date= 4 March 2011|title= Asian women powerhouses of film / Nurtured by movies|url= |work= The Business Times|location= Singapore|access-date=}}</ref> She attended Brown University, where she majored in art semiotics.<ref name = "Johnson">{{cite news |last= Johnson|first= Jason|date= 21 February 2011|title= She's a friendly director|url= |work= The New Paper|location= Singapore|access-date=}}</ref> She is also a graduate of the New York University Tisch School of the Arts.<ref name = "IMDA"/>
==Career== In 1997, Wee directed her first short film, ''Norman on the Air'', for which she won the Best Director award at the 1997 Singapore International Film Festival Silver Screen awards. She directed the short film ''Another Guy'', which won the Special Achievement Award at the Singapore International Film Festival in 1999. She directed her fifth short film, ''Holiday'', which starred Adrian Pang, in 2002.<ref>{{cite news |last= Ho|first= Karl|date= 26 July 2002|title= Kiss the boy and make him sick|url= |work= The Straits Times|location= Singapore|access-date=}}</ref> She directed the short film ''All My Presents'' as a segment of ''Digital Compassion 02''.<ref>{{cite news |last= Wong|first= Tessa|date= 21 August 2002|title= Short in Singapore|url= |work= The Straits Times|location= Singapore|access-date=}}</ref> She directed the short films ''Maths Tuition'', ''Homemaker'' and ''Autograph Book'' in 2001, 2002 and 2003 respectively.<ref name = "Johnson"/>
Wee directed her first feature film, ''Gone Shopping'', in 2007. It competed at the Asia New Talent Section of the 2008 Shanghai International Film Festival, and was shown at the 2008 Asian American International Film Festival.<ref>{{cite news |last= Koh|first= Bernard|date= 15 May 2008|title= Singapore films to compete in Shanghai|url= |work= The Straits Times|location= Singapore|access-date=}}</ref> Her second feature film was the 2011 romantic comedy film ''Forever''.<ref>{{cite news |last= Ong|first= Sor Fern|date= 23 March 2011|title= Bride and gloom|url= |work= The Straits Times|location= Singapore|access-date=}}</ref> In 2012, Wee directed the short film ''Singapore Country'' as part of a commission by the National Library Board for the ''Singapore Memory Project''. The film focuses on singer Matthew Tan and his hit song, ''Singapore Cowboy''.<ref>{{cite news |last= Chan|first= Boon|date= 11 April 2012|title= Three films for the Memory|url= |work= The Straits Times|location= Singapore|access-date=}}</ref> She directed the telemovie ''Hong Baos and Kisses'' in 2014.<ref>{{cite news |last= Yip|first= Wai Yee|date= 29 January 2014|title= Big hongbao comes with first kiss|url= |work= The Straits Times|location= Singapore|access-date=}}</ref> Later that year, she directed the short film ''That Loving Feeling''.<ref>{{cite news |last= Tan|first= Dylan|date= 25 July 2014|title= Directing the write stuff|url= |work= The Business Times|location= Singapore|access-date=}}</ref>
Wee directed the short films ''Centrepoint KidZ'' and ''My Autograph'' in 2015, the latter of which was an expansion of her 2003 short film, ''Autograph Book''. She hoped that ''Centrepoint KidZ'' would help dispel negative stereotypes about Centrepoint Kids. Both films played at the National Library Board's Singapore Memory Project Rewind/Remind film festival.<ref>{{cite news |last= Twang|first= Lisa|date= 27 May 2015|title= RETRO REWIND|url= |work= The New Paper|location= Singapore|access-date=}}</ref> She directed the music video for ''We Are Singapore'', the official National Day Parade song for 2018.<ref>{{cite news |last= Keng|first= Yang Shuen|date= 23 May 2018|title= The NDP 2018 song is out, and it's a little surprising|url= https://www.asiaone.com/singapore/ndp-2018-song-out-and-its-little-surprising|work= AsiaOne|location= Singapore|access-date= 30 September 2022}}</ref> In 2019, she directed the short film ''The Factory Girl'' as one of four short films on the ''Merdeka Generation'' package.<ref>{{cite news |last= Choo|first= Daryl|date= 30 January 2019|title= Four short films on Merdeka Generation to premiere on TV, online|url= https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/four-short-films-merdeka-generation-premiere-tv-online|work= today|location= Singapore|access-date= 30 September 2022}}</ref> Later that year, she directed the short film ''A Lifesaver's Passion'' as a segment of ''The Merdeka Stories II''.<ref>{{cite news |last= Sholihyn|first= Ilyas|date= 29 November 2019|title= How a kampung tragedy sparked off a Singapore lifeguard's journey|url= https://www.asiaone.com/singapore/how-kampung-tragedy-sparked-lifeguard-journey-and-merdeka-generation-film-about-him|work= AsiaOne|location= Singapore|access-date= 30 September 2022}}</ref>
The Infocomm Media Development Authority describes her as one of the "pioneer female filmmakers in Singapore".<ref name = "IMDA">{{cite web |url= https://www.imda.gov.sg/for-industry/sectors/Media/film/directors/wee-li-lin|title= Wee Li Lin|last= |first= |date= |website= Infocomm Media Development Authority|publisher= |access-date= 30 September 2022|quote=}}</ref>
==Filmography== * ''Norman on the Air'' (1997) * ''Another Guy'' (1999) * ''Maths Tuition'' (2001) * ''All My Presents'' (2002) * ''Holiday'' (2002) * ''Homemaker'' (2002) * ''Autograph Book'' (2003) * ''Gone Shopping'' (2007) * ''Forever'' (2011) * ''Singapore Country'' (2012) * ''Hong Baos and Kisses'' (2014) * ''That Loving Feeling'' (2014) * ''Centrepoint KidZ'' (2015) * ''My Autograph Book'' (2015) * ''Baby Bumps'' (2016) * ''The Perm'' (2016) * ''Areola Borealis'' (2017) * ''A Lifesaver's Passion'' (2019) * ''Interwoven'' (2019) * ''The Factory Girl'' (2019)
==References== {{Reflist}}
== External links ==
* {{IMDb name|id=0917220}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:1972 births Category:Singaporean film directors Category:Singaporean women film directors Category:Living people Category:Brown University alumni Category:New York University Tisch School of the Arts alumni