Ken Kwek
| Ken Kwek | |
|---|---|
| Born |
7 May 1979 Singapore |
| Nationality | Singaporean |
| Alma mater |
University of Cambridge (B.A.) NYU Tisch School of the Arts (M.F.A.) |
| Occupation | Film director, screenwriter, producer |
Ken Kwek (born 7 May 1979) is a Singaporean screenwriter, director and playwright. His short film compendium, Sex.Violence.FamilyValues, was banned by the Singapore and Malaysian governments in 2012. He released the feature film Unlucky Plaza in 2014, which won him the Best Director prize at the Tehran Jasmine Film Festival.
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, 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.
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, which he conceived as an omnibus entitled 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 and was nominated for Best Comedy at the Super Shorts Film Festival in London.
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. The ban caused a public furore and ignited a debate about censorship in Singapore's Parliament.
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