Woo Ming Jin

Last updated
Woo Ming Jin
Nationality Malaysian
Occupation(s) Film director, writer and producer

Woo Ming Jin is a Malaysian film director, writer and producer. His films have screened in film festivals such as Cannes, Berlin and Venice. He is also the co-founder of Greenlight Pictures, a film and television production house based in Kuala Lumpur.

Contents

Biography

Early career

Woo Ming Jin was born and raised in Malaysia. At 19 years old, he went to the United States to study business in Boston but he had always wanted to be a filmmaker. [1] He was then accepted to San Diego State University and earned a Master's degree in Film and Television Production.

Monday Morning Glory

His first film Monday Morning Glory (2005) screened at the Berlin and Locarno Film Festivals, while his second, Elephant and the Sea (2007), won awards in Torino, [2] Cinema Digital Seoul, Portugal and Spain film festivals. Woman on Fire Looks for Water (2009) premiered at the Venice International Film Festival, and has played in Busan, Rotterdam, Los Angeles and the Pompidou Center in Paris, among many others. The film is about a group of men arrested for the terrorist bombing of a nightclub have to reenact their actions for the police and media.

The Tiger Factory

The Tiger Factory (2010), only the third film in Malaysian history to be selected to the Cannes Film Festival, premiered at the Directors' Fortnight, and won the Special Jury Mention at the Tokyo Film Festival in 2010. [3] [4] [5] The film is about a girl named Ping Ping who wants to go to Japan to start a better life. She shuffles between two jobs; working in a pig farm, and cleaning dishes in a rundown restaurant. The film is described as a "rather uplifting tale about a young girl who is forced to rely on herself because she has no real support system". [6]

KL Zombi

In 2011, he conceived the idea for a zombie horror thriller titled Zombijaya. The book, which was written by Adib Zaini for Buku FIXI, tells the tale of a slacker who becomes a reluctant hero when a zombie outbreak robs him of the only life he knows. It would later evolve into a film in 2013 titled KL Zombi, in which Woo became the film director. The film adaptation became a box office success [7] and one of the highest VOD films of the year. The film was also screened at the 18th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival from the 17th until the 24th of July 2014. [8]

The Second Life of Thieves

His most recent film, The Second Life of Thieves (2014), premiered at the Busan International Film Festival and has been supported by the Hubert Bals Fund of Rotterdam, [9] and the Vision Sud Est Fund. [10] The film is about Mr. Tan, the village chief, discovers his wife has disappeared with his good friend Mr. Lai. Forming an unlikely friendship with Mr. Lai's daughter Sandy, both of them embark on an emotional journey that will open old and new wounds alike. Juxtaposing between present day and 30 years in the past, the film is a meditation on love, lost, and regret. [11] The story is inspired by Woo's late uncle and the secret life that he reportedly led. [12]

Return to Nostalgia

In 2015, he was commissioned by the Busan International Film Festival and KBS Studios to make a documentary on Malaysia's cinematic history. The resulting film, Return To Nostalgia, [13] premiered at the festival, and was the opening film for the “Power of Asian Cinema” Series. [14]

Woo and his crew travelled across the peninsula of Malaysia and Singapore in search of the lost film Seruan Merdeka (1947). Seruan Merdeka is the first post-World War II film made in Malaya. It is also the first film in the history of Malaysian cinema to feature a biracial cast of Malays and Chinese. While gradually uncovering information about the lost film, a doorway into one of Malaya's most turbulent times – the Japanese Occupation – is revealed.

Greenlight Pictures

Greenlight Pictures [15] is founded by Woo alongside Edmund Yeo who has produced all of Woo's films, including Woman on Fire Looks for Water, and The Tiger Factory, which premiered at the Venice and Cannes film festivals. In 2012, its co-production with CPH-Dox, Girl in the Water, won Denmark's Academy Award for best short film. Locally, Greenlight Pictures produces various content for television and the internet, from commercials to TV programs and drama series. Autumn Di Hatiku 1 & 2, made for Tonton Digital, [16] received nominations for best digital show in the Asia TV Awards in 2014.

Greenlight Pictures also worked on KL Zombi, which was a box office hit in 2013. Other film credits include Mamak Cupcake, and two upcoming features in 2015/2016. Double, a horror short, was executive produced by Justin Lin, premiered on YouTube in 2012.

In 2014, Greenlight Pictures produced two feature films, The Second Life of Thieves and River of Exploding Durians, which was accepted for Competition at the Tokyo International Film Festival – the first ever Malaysian film to do so.

Filmography

Selected filmography

YearTitleRolesNotes
2025The Fox KingDirector/Producer
2024InderaDirector/Writer/Producer Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival
2022 Stone Turtle Director/Writer/Producer Locarno International Film Festival
2021 Zombitopia Director/Writer/Producer
2015Return to NostalgiaDirector/Writer Busan International Film Festival
2014Second Life of ThievesDirector/Writer/Producer Busan International Film Festival

Singapore International Film Festival

Rotterdam International Film Festival Torino Gay and Lesbian Film Festival [17]

Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival

2014Mamak Cupcake [18] Director
2014Autumn Di Hatiku (Autumn in My Heart)Director/WriterDigital Webseries for Tonton Digital

Nominated for Best Digital Series in the Asian Television Awards [19]

2013KL ZombiDirector Puchon International Film Festival

ASEAN International Film Festival [20]

2012DoubleDirector/Writer/Producer

(Short Film)

Short film commissioned by Justin Lin (Fast 5)

for his YOMYOMF YouTube channel [21]

2011 60 Seconds of Solitude in Year Zero DirectorAnthology film consisting of 60 directors
2011Girl in the WaterDirector (Short Film)Best Short Film, Roberts Award (Denmark)

Rotterdam International Film Festival

CPX Film Festival [22]

Warsaw International Film Festival

2011Seru (Resurrection)Co-director/Co-writer Puchon International Film Festival 2011[ citation needed ]
2011Hatiku Di Kinabalu (My Heart in Kinabalu)DirectorTelevision Movie, Astro
2010The Tiger FactoryDirector/Writer/Producer Cannes Film Festival, Directors' Fortnight

Tokyo International Film Festival (Special Jury Mention, Winds of Asia)

Busan International Film Festival

Hamburg Film Festival

Vancouver Film Festival

Warsaw Film Festival

Hawaii Film Festival

Mumbai Film Festival

Mostra de São Paulo

Gijon Film Festival

Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival

Nantes 3 Continents

Cinemanila Film Festival

Kerala Film Festival

Rotterdam International Film Festival (2011)

Geneve Black Movie Film Festival 2011

Fribourg Film Festival

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 2011

Canberra Cinematheque [23] 2011

Los Angeles Asian Pacific FF 2011

Pittsburgh Silk Screen Film Festival 2011

Mexico Distrital Film Festival [24] 2011

St Petersburg Kinoforum 2011

South East Asian Film Festival Singapore (2011)

200915MalaysiaDirector/EditorDirected/edited the Slovak Sling short film segment [25]
2009 Woman on Fire Looks for Water Director/Writer/Producer Venice Film Festival (Horizons)

Busan Film Festival

Cinemanila Film Festival (Special Mention Award)

Rotterdam International Film Festival (2010)

Hong Kong Asian Independent Film Festival

Open Doek Film Festival (2010)

New Era Horizons (2010)

San Francisco Film Festival (2010)

Los Angeles Film Festival (2010)

Denmark CPH:PIX (2010)

World Film Festival Amsterdam [26]

L’Alternativa Film Festival [27]

Films From the South FF

Asian American Film Festival New York

Haifa International Film Festival

Vienna International Film Festival

Southeast Asian Film Festival Hawaii

Focus on Asia Film Festival [28]

Pyongyang Film Festival

Munich Film Festival

Buenos Aires International Film Festival (BAFICI)

Malaysia Cinema Focus in Rio de Janeiro

CineJeune Film Festival [29]

South East Asian Film Festival Singapore [30] (2011)

2008Kurus (Days of the Turquoise Sky)Director/Writer Bangkok International Film Festival (Special Jury Prize, Golden Kinaree Awards) [31]
2007Blue RoofDirector/Writer (Short Film) Busan International Film Festival (Three Colours of New Malaysian Cinema Program)
2007The Elephant and The SeaDirector/Writer/Producer/Editor Torino International Film Festival

Winner: Special Jury Prize

Cinema Digital Seoul Film Festival

Winner: Best Director Award

Critics Award

DIBA Barcelona Film Festival [32] (2008)

Winner: Best Director

Lisbon Village Film Festival [33] (2008)

Winner: Grand Prize, Best Film

Rotterdam International Film Festival

Los Angeles International Film Festival

Seattle International Film Festival

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival

Asian American International Film Festival

Hong Kong International Film Festival

Santiago International Film Festival

Vancouver International Film Festival

Flanders International Film Festival

Warsaw Film Festival

Blackmovie Film Festival Geneva

Las Palmas International Film Festival

2005It's Possible Your Heart Cannot Be BrokenDirector/Writer Singapore International Film Festival (2006)

Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (2006)

Hawaii International Film Festival (2006)

2005Monday Morning GloryDirector/Writer/Producer/Editor Berlin International Film Festival, Forum (2006)

Locarno International Film Festival (2006)

San Francisco Int’l Film Festival

Tokyo Int’l Film Festival

Pusan Int’l Film Festival

Bangkok International Film Festival

Osian's Film Festival

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References

  1. ↑ "An interview with Woo Ming-jin, director of Woman on Fire Looks for Water, and a comment - World Socialist Web Site". www.wsws.org. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
  2. ↑ "Cinema Online Brunei: News - Elephant & The Sea Press Conference". Cinema Online. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
  3. ↑ "The Tiger Factory". greenlight pictures. 28 October 2015. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
  4. ↑ "Full List of Tokyo International Film Festival Award Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. 31 October 2010. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
  5. ↑ "2010 Tokyo International Film Festival Award Winners". VIMOOZ. 2 November 2010. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
  6. ↑ "The Tiger Factory".
  7. ↑ "cinema.com.my: "KL Zombi" hits RM 2 mil in 4 days" . Retrieved 2016-01-07.
  8. ↑ "Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival - Festival Scope: Festivals on Demand for Film Professionals World Wide". www.festivalscope.com. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
  9. ↑ "Hubert Bals Fund". IFFR. Retrieved 2016-01-06.
  10. ↑ "visions sud est". www.visionssudest.ch. Retrieved 2016-01-06.
  11. ↑ "The Second Life of Thieves". greenlight pictures. 21 April 2015. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
  12. ↑ "Interview: Woo Ming Jin on The Second Life of Thieves". FilmDoo. 2016-06-01. Retrieved 2018-09-24.
  13. ↑ "Woo Ming Jin shows off Malaysia at Busan - Star2.com". Star2.com. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
  14. ↑ "WWW.BIFF.KRㅣ6-15 October, 2016". www.biff.kr. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
  15. ↑ "ABOUT". greenlight pictures. 15 April 2015. Retrieved 2016-01-06.
  16. ↑ "Autumn Di Hatiku - TONTON Original Series". Autumn Di Hatiku. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
  17. ↑ "TGLFF". TGLFF. Retrieved 2016-01-06.
  18. ↑ "cinema.com.my: Mamak Cupcake" . Retrieved 2016-01-07.
  19. ↑ "2014 Winners".
  20. ↑ "Asean International Film Festival & Award 2015". www.aiffa2015.com. Retrieved 2016-01-06.
  21. ↑ Double (Silent Terror) , retrieved 2016-01-06
  22. ↑ "Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival". CPH:DOX. Retrieved 2016-01-06.
  23. ↑ "Chauvel Cinémathèque - Monday 7pm | Events | Palace Cinemas | Share our passion". www.palacecinemas.com.au. Retrieved 2016-01-06.
  24. ↑ "próximamente". distrital.mx. Retrieved 2016-01-06.
  25. ↑ "15MALAYSIA » Slovak Sling". 15malaysia.com. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
  26. ↑ "World Cinema Amsterdam | Internationaal filmfestival | 14 – 23 Augustus 2015". www.worldcinemaamsterdam.com. Retrieved 2016-01-06.
  27. ↑ "L'Alternativa 2015 » Festival de Cinema Independent de Barcelona". alternativa.cccb.org. Retrieved 2016-01-06.
  28. ↑ "Focus on Asia International Film Festival Fukuoka 2015". www.focus-on-asia.com. Retrieved 2016-01-06.
  29. ↑ "Festival International Ciné-Jeune de l'Aisne". Festival International Ciné-Jeune de l'Aisne. Retrieved 2016-01-06.
  30. ↑ "Home | Singapore International Film Festival". Singapore International Film Festival. Retrieved 2016-01-06.
  31. ↑ "DAYS OF THE TURQUOISE SKY (KURUS) wins award at Bangkok International Film Festival | Edmund Yeo". www.edmundyeo.com. 29 September 2008. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
  32. ↑ "Diba Digital Barcelona Film Festival | Filmfestivals.com". www.filmfestivals.com. Retrieved 2016-01-06.
  33. ↑ "Lisbon Village Festival | Filmfestivals.com". www.filmfestivals.com. Retrieved 2016-01-06.
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