Kelvin Tong | |
---|---|
Born | 1971or1972(age 51–52) |
Education | |
Alma mater | National University of Singapore |
Occupations |
|
Years active | 1996−present |
Chinese name | |
Traditional Chinese | 唐永健 |
Simplified Chinese | 唐永健 |
Hanyu Pinyin | Táng Yǒngjiàn |
Kelvin Tong Weng Kian (born in 1971 or 1972) is a Singaporean film director, screenwriter and producer. He was a former film critic for The Straits Times .
Kelvin's passion for theatre and filmmaking began in his secondary school days in Victoria School. [1] He went on to study at Victoria Junior College and law at the National University of Singapore. [2] After a short nine-month stint with law firm, Drew & Napier, following his graduation from law school, Kelvin started out in the film business as a film critic, writing reviews for The Straits Times from 1995 to 1999. [3] [4] He made a short film, Moveable Feast, in 1996 with Sandi Tan and Jasmine Ng Kin Kia. [5] His first feature, co-directed with Jasmine Ng Kin Kia, [6] is "a motorcycle kung-fu love story", titled Eating Air , which was received respectably. [4]
His next film, The Maid , a horror thriller, made a bigger impact, breaking the box office record in Singapore for the horror genre, making S$700,000 on its opening weekend. Hailed as the first Singaporean horror film, The Maid won the European Fantastic Film Festivals Federation Asian Film Award at the 10th Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival. It was produced by MediaCorp Raintree Pictures.
He next directed Love Story , which combined three short stories that examined different aspects of love. It was screened at the 2006 Pusan International Film Festival. [7] The film was produced by Hong Kong–based Focus Films.
In 2007, he directed the horror-comedy Men in White , about four ghosts struggling to survive in Singapore, and which examined the Singaporean obsession with superstitions. [7] It was produced by Innoform Media.
In 2008, he directed the crime thriller, Rule No. 1 , produced by Hong Kong–based Fortune Star. He also plans to direct a film called Bed, a comedy drama set in 1960s Singapore when the city-state's education system switched from Chinese language to English. [4]
Tong says his influences range "from Lars von Trier to Stephen Chow". [4]
With his brother, producer Leon Tong, Kelvin has his own production company, Boku Films, enabling him to independently develop his film projects. [3] [4]
In a 2007 interview, Kelvin Tong said he is still learning his craft: "It is one thing to talk about films as a journalist, but it is fascinating that many of the decisions that make a difference between a good and a bad film are made in front of a monitor, often in a fraction of a second." [4]
In June 2010, Tong was part of a group of Singapore filmmakers to protest the Asian Film Archive's head Tan Bee Thiam's supposed conflict of interest. Their letter led to Tan's resignation as executive director in September. [8]
In 2014, Tong became the first Singaporean director to helm a Hollywood film when he started shooting The Faith of Anna Waters (2016), a horror film starring Elizabeth Rice, Matthew Settle and Adrian Pang. [9] [10] He also shot a short film as part of the 7 Letters omnibus to celebrate Singapore's 50th anniversary in 2015. [11]
Year | Title | Notes |
---|---|---|
1996 | Moveable Feast | Short film; co-director and writer |
1999 | Eating Air | Co-director and writer |
2005 | The Maid | |
2006 | Love Story | |
2007 | Men in White | |
2008 | Rule No. 1 | |
2010 | Kidnapper | |
2011 | It's a Great, Great World | |
2012 | Dance Dance Dragon | Producer and writer |
2015 | 7 Letters | Segment "Grandma Positioning System" |
2016 | The Faith of Anna Waters | |
2018 | Republic of Food | |
2023 | Trapped | Short film |
Confinement | ||
A Year of No Significance | ||
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I Not Stupid is a 2002 Singaporean comedy film about the lives, struggles and adventures of three Primary 6 pupils who are placed in the academically inferior EM3 stream. Written and directed by Jack Neo, and produced by Mediacorp Raintree Pictures, the film stars Huang Po Ju, Shawn Lee, Joshua Ang, Cheryl Desiree Chan, Xiang Yun, Jack Neo, Richard Low and Selena Tan.
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Royston Tan is a Singaporean filmmaker and actor.
Mediacorp Raintree Pictures was a film production company based in Singapore. The company, a division of Mediacorp Group, was established on 1 August 1998. It financed The Truth About Jane and Sam, produced by Hong Kong's Film Unlimited and directed by Derek Yee. This film garnered a Best New Performer nomination at the 19th Hong Kong Film Awards for its lead actress, Fann Wong from Singapore.
Tan Pin Pin is a Singapore-based film director. She is best known for the documentary film Singapore GaGa (2005). It was the first Singaporean documentary to have a theatrical run. In 2014, her documentary To Singapore, With Love (2013) was denied for all ratings by the Media Development Authority, effectively banning it in Singapore.
Ah Kong was an organised crime and drugs syndicate that used to extensively control the European heroin trade in the 1970s to 1990s. Originating from Singapore, it was one of the world's largest drug syndicates, having been mainly based in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and Bangkok, Thailand, where they received their drug supplies. The production of heroin was at an area known as the Golden Triangle formed by Thailand, Laos and Myanmar. Ah Kong was not a triad but a fearsome organized crime gang that was renowned all over Asia and Europe.
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Lim Kay Tong is a Singaporean film, television and stage actor. Notably, he starred opposite Sean Penn in Shanghai Surprise (1986), Pierce Brosnan in Noble House (1988), and Claire Danes in Brokedown Palace (1999), and was the lead actor in Growing Up (1996–2001) and Perth (2004). Lim has been called "Singapore's finest actor", "Singapore's best-known actor", and Singapore's answer to thespians Ian McKellen and Alec Guinness.
Lang Tong is a 2014 Singaporean erotic thriller film directed by Sam Loh. It stars William Lawandi, Angeline Yap, and Vivienne Tseng. Yap and Tseng play sisters involved in a love triangle with a serial womanizer, played by Lawandi. It premiered uncut in December 2014 at the Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) and was released in Singapore on March 5, 2015. It caused some controversy in Singapore over its graphic sex scenes, three minutes of which were cut for its theatrical release.
The Faith of Anna Waters is a 2016 American-Singaporean horror film starring American actors Elizabeth Rice and Matthew Settle and directed by Kelvin Tong. Billed as Singapore's first Hollywood supernatural feature, the film tells the story of an American journalist who travels to Singapore to investigate the mysterious suicide of her sister, and delves into one of Tong's favourite horror subgenres: exorcism.
Kirsten Tan is a Singaporean film director and screenwriter. She is best known for her 2017 feature film debut, Pop Aye, which won the Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, and was Singapore's official submission to the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
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Jasmine Ng Kin Kia is a Singaporean film director. She is known for co-directing the feature film Eating Air, the documentary film Pink Paddlers and the short film Moveable Feast. She is also a part-time film lecturer at the National University of Singapore.
Love Story is a 2006 Hong Kong and Singaporean romantic drama film directed by Kelvin Tong. The film follows a romance novelist and his four different muses, and stars Allen Lin, Erica Lee, Evelyn Tan, Tracy Tan and Amanda Ling. Funded by Andy Lau's production company Focus Films as part of its Focus: First Cuts projects which was set up to encourage the region's promising directors, the film won Tong the Best Director award at the 2006 Singapore International Film Festival.
Confinement is a 2023 Singaporean psychological thriller film written and directed by Kelvin Tong. It stars Rebecca Lim and Cynthia Koh. The plot follows a first-time mother (Lim) who starts experiencing strange occurrences in her house when she hires a confinement nanny (Koh) to look after her and her newborn baby for a month. The film was released in theatres on 19 October 2023.