Joel Soh

Last updated

Joel Soh
Joel Soh.jpg
Born (1987-08-16) August 16, 1987 (age 37)
Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia
Alma mater Taylor's University
Emerson College
Occupations
  • Film producer
  • Film director
  • Filmmaker
Years active2009–present
EmployerBlackflag Malaysia
Notable work Polis Evo

Joel Soh (born August 16, 1987) is a Malaysian film director, producer and writer. He is the founder and managing director of his own production company Blackflag, and most recognized for his works in the Polis Evo franchise. Recognized for his contributions to Malaysian cinema, Joel's films have a combined box office of over RM100 million, making him one of the highest-grossing film producers in Malaysia, with Polis Evo 3 collecting RM54 million.

Contents

Early life and Education

Joel was born in Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia, a coastal town where his interests in the creative arts developed at a young age.

He moved to Kuala Lumpur in 2005, at the age of 18, to pursue filmmaking at the National Cultural Arts and Heritage Academy (ASWARA). That year, he was awarded the Astro Scholarship Award and was given the opportunity to complete his Cambridge A-Levels at Taylor's University, and to pursue a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree at Emerson College, Boston, where he graduated with summa cum laude honor and was inducted in the Gold Key Honor Society.

Career

Early Career at Astro Shaw

After graduating, he returned to Malaysia and worked in Tayangan Unggul (a company under Astro) as a production executive. During his tenure, he was involved in multiple films in various capacities including the two critically acclaimed blockbusters:

·       The Journey (2014)

·       Ola Bola (2016)

Franchise Breakthrough

In 2015, Joel created the action-comedy film Polis Evo where he served as producer and lead-writer along with his co-workers Kyle Goonting and Anwari Ashraf, who were the recipients of the ‘Astro Scholarship Award’. The movie was a nationwide commercial success, grossing RM18 million, making it the highest-grossing Malaysian film at the time. Polis Evo also earned eight nominations at the 2016 Malaysian Film Festival, where it garnered two wins for ‘Best Supporting Actor’ and ‘Best Cinematography’ and received the ‘Special Jury Award’ for highest box office.

Polis Evo's success led Joel to co-found Blackflag in 2017, where he served as Managing Director. At Blackflag, Joel began work on Polis Evo 2, which he co-directed alongside Andre Chiew. Released in 2018, the sequel outperformed its predecessor, earning over RM20 million at the Malaysian box office.

Polis Evo 2 was a major milestone in Joel's career. With a production budget three times higher than the original, Polis Evo 2 was also the first Astro Shaw film to enter the Indonesian market. Joel and Andre also received nominations for ‘Best Upcoming Directors’ at the 30th Malaysia Film Festival.

In 2019, Joel produced and wrote the franchise's third installment, Polis Evo 3. The film was released in 2023, earned over RM54 million, and achieved blockbuster status as one of the highest-grossing Malaysian films of all time. During its opening weekend, it overshadowed the Hollywood blockbuster Fast X at the Malaysian box office, grossing RM1.3 million from sneak previews alone and RM2.1 million on its opening day. Polis Evo 3 is ranked no. 1 box office film in Malaysia for the year 2023 despite international competition.

Actor Sharnaaz Ahmad credited Joel for supporting his part in the film despite rumors about his alleged difficult behavior on set.

Filmography

YearFilmCredited asNotes
ProducerWriterDirector
2009Room 1821YesNoYesShort film; also as editor, and art director
2011AngelaYesYesShort film
2012TTMF
2014 The Journey AssociateNoNo
2015 Cemetery of Splendour AssociateNoNo
Polis Evo YesYesNo
2016 Ola Bola AssociateNoNo
2018 Polis Evo 2 YesYesYesCo-directed with Andre Chiew
2023 Polis Evo 3 YesYesNo
2024 The Experts YesYesNo
TBABaran†YesYesYes
Key
†Denotes films that have not yet been released

Awards and nominations

AwardYearCategoryNominated workResultRef.
Malaysia Film Festival 2016Best Film Polis Evo Nominated [1]
Best ScreenplayNominated [a] [1]
Special Jury AwardWon [2]
Box Office AwardWon [b] [2]
2018Most Promising Director Polis Evo 2 Nominated [c]

Notes

  1. ↑ Shared with Kyle Goonting, Anwari Ashraf and Adib Zaini
  2. ↑ For racking RM17.74 million in mandatory 'Skim Wajib Tayang'
  3. ↑ Shared with Andre Chiew

Related Research Articles

EVO or Evo may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cinema of Malaysia</span>

The cinema of Malaysia consists of feature films produced in Malaysia, shot in the languages Malay, Mandarin, Cantonese, Tamil, various indigenous languages, and English.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sooraj Barjatya</span> Indian film director and screenwriter (born 1964)

Sooraj R. Barjatya is an Indian filmmaker who works in Hindi cinema. He has directed and produced some of the most commercially successful Hindi films. His films often include themes of familial ties and values, and are rooted in traditional Indian culture. Barjatya is the chairman of Rajshri Productions, which was formed by his late grandfather Tarachand Barjatya in 1947.

Astro Shaw Sdn Bhd is a Malaysian film studio that has produced films for the local and regional markets and is pursuing expansion into international film investments. It also provides a marketing and distribution services for theatrical and non-theatrical release in Malaysia and abroad.

2017 in film is an overview of events, including the highest-grossing films, award ceremonies, festivals, a list of films released, and notable deaths. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner celebrated its 50th anniversary. No Country for Old Men and Transformers celebrated their 10th anniversaries.

<i>The Journey</i> (2014 Malaysian film) 2014 Malaysian film

The Journey is a 2014 Malaysian Chinese-language comedy-drama film directed by Chiu Keng Guan and written by Ryon Lee. The film stars Ben Andrew Pfeiffer, Lee Sai Peng and Joanne Yew Hong Im. The story follows a father that finally allows his daughter to wed an English lad with a condition that he shall follow him on a journey around the nation to deliver their wedding invitation. The Journey was also invited to be screened at the 16th Far East Film Festival in Udine, Italy.

<i>Polis Evo</i> 2015 Malaysian film

Polis Evo is a 2015 Malaysian buddy cop action comedy film directed by Ghaz Abu Bakar and written by Joel Soh, Kyle Goonting, Anwari Ashraf and Adib Zaini. The film casts includes Shaheizy Sam, Zizan Razak, Nora Danish, Mimi Ernida, Hushairy Hussein and Pablo Amirul. The film tells the story of two police officers, Inspector Khai and Inspector Sani who have very different personalities but are forced to work together to bring down a drug trafficking operation. The film was released theatrically on September 17, 2015, nationwide.

<i>Ola Bola</i> 2016 Malaysian film

Ola Bola is a 2016 Malaysian Malay-language sport drama film directed by Chiu Keng Guan starring JC Chee, Luqman Hafidz, Saran Kumar, Marianne Tan, Katrina Ho, Frankie Lee and Bront Palarae. The film was inspired by the glories of the Malaysia national football team which successfully entered the 1980 Summer Olympics. The film was released in Malaysian cinemas on 28 January 2016. As of November 2019, Ola Bola is currently ranked the tenth-highest grossing Malaysian film of all-time.

Chiu Keng Guan is a Malaysian film director.

Mohd Nizam Abdul Razak is a Malaysian animator. He is best known as the creator and director of Malaysian animated series, BoBoiBoy and its franchise. He is one of the co-founders and Managing Director of Animonsta Studios, which is based in Cyberjaya. He is a graduate of Multimedia University, majoring in Film and Animation.

Mohd Syafiq bin Mohd Yusof is a Malaysian filmmaker and visual effects artist. He is a younger brother of actor Syamsul Yusof and son of veteran actor Yusof Haslam. Initially began his career by making short films, his directorial debut, SAM: Saya Amat Mencintaimu was released in 2012. Since then, he directed seven notable films, all of which became commercial successes.

<i>Vedigundu Pasangge</i> 2018 Malaysian film

Vedigundu Pasangge is a 2018 Malaysian Tamil language crime comedy film. It was the final instalment of Pasangge trilogy film series after Vilayaatu Pasange (2011), and Vetti Pasanga (2014). Vimala Perumal directed the movie with an ensemble cast including Sangeeta Krishnasamy, Denes Kumar, David Anthony, and Thangamani Velayuda. Music and background music were scored by composer duo Vivek–Mervin.

<i>Polis Evo 2</i> 2018 Malaysian film

Polis Evo 2 is a 2018 Malaysian buddy cop action film. Co-produced and distributed by Astro Shaw, the film directed by Joel Soh and Andre Chiew, starring Zizan Razak and Shaheizy Sam reprise their respective roles, with Indonesian actress Raline Shah joined them as the main cast. It revolves Malaysian and Indonesian police to crippled a group of terrorists attacking a hostile village and detaining residents as the hostages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vimala Perumal</span> Film Director and Academician

Vimala Perumal is a Malaysian filmmaker. She is currently a Senior Lecturer at Multimedia University, in Cyberjaya, Malaysia. Her film Vedigundu Pasangge received national and international recognition.

<i>Polis Evo 3</i> 2023 Malaysian film

Polis Evo 3 is a 2023 Malaysian buddy cop action comedy film directed by Syafiq Yusof from the story by Joel Soh starring Zizan Razak and Shaheizy Sam who reprise their respective roles, with Sharnaaz Ahmad joining them as the main antagonist. A sequel to Polis Evo (2015) and Polis Evo 2 (2018), the film is the third and final installment in the Polis Evo film series. Originally slated for a 2021 release, the film was postponed to 2022 before officially being released on 25 May 2023.

KELUANG MAN

<i>Polis Evo</i> (film series) Film series created by Astro Shaw

Polis Evo is a Malaysian buddy cop action comedy film series, created by Joel Soh, Kyle Goonting and Anwari Ashraf, who previously became an Astro Scholarship Students. The film series are produced and distributed by Astro Shaw and features Shaheizy Sam as Khairul/Inspector Khai and Zizan Razak as Hassani/Inspector Sani.

Anwari Ashraf Hashim is a Malaysian screenwriter, film producer, film director and occasional actor. He is currently become Head of Astro Shaw Ventures Production in Astro Shaw who also created Writers' Room program in 2019. He's also one of the key person behind Polis Evo franchise alongside Joel Soh and Kyle Goonting.

<i>The Experts</i> (2024 film) 2024 Malaysian film

The Experts is a 2024 Malaysian action crime film directed by Andre Chiew and Nazim Shah with story by Joel Soh who also produced the film and Kyle Goonting, head of production and development at Astro Shaw. Co-produced and distributed by Astro Shaw and TGV Pictures, the film stars Aaron Aziz, Syafiq Kyle, Remy Ishak, Mimi Lana and Ray Dapdap as family members.

Kyle Ezra Goonting, also known by the nickname Be Wilder Beans, is a Malaysian film screenwriter, creative development, supervising and creative producer. He is currently the head of production & development in Astro Shaw, the company he worked for since Polis Evo production. He is also one of the key people for the Polis Evo franchise alongside Joel Soh and Anwari Ashraf. He was also the co-creator and a founding member of Blackflag, a Malaysian film company managed by Soh.

References

  1. 1 2 "Astro dominasi pencalonan akhir FFM28". www.astroawani.com. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  2. 1 2 Chua, Dennis (9 September 2016). "28th Malaysian Film Festival: Big names, big wins | New Straits Times". NST Online. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.