Royston Tan

Royston Tan (simplified Chinese: 陈子谦; traditional Chinese: 陳子謙; pinyin: Chén Zǐ Qiān; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tân Chí-khiam; born 5 October 1976) is a Singaporean filmmaker.

Tan is a graduate from Temasek Polytechnic, where he studied Visual Communications.^[1] He first came into prominence through his short films: Sons (2000), Hock Hiap Leong (2001), 48 on AIDS (2002), Mother (2002) and 15 (2002). He has so far directed four features.

Filmography

Filmography as Director

Feature films

• 15 (feature) (2003)
• 4:30 (feature) (2006)
• 881 (feature) (2007)
• 12 Lotus (feature) (2008)
• 3688 (feature) (2015)

Short films

• Adam.Eve.Steve (1997)
• Jesses (1999)
• Sons (2000)
• Hock Hiap Leong (2001)
• 48 on AIDS (2002)
• 24 HRS (2002)
• Mother (2002)
• 15 (short) (2002)!
• The Old Man and The River (2003)
• 177155 (2003)
• Cut (2004)
• The Blind Trilogy: Blind / Old Parliament House / Capitol Cinema (2004)
• The Absentee (2004)
• Careless Whisperer (2005)
• New York Girl (2005)
• Monkeylove (2005)
• DIY (2005)
• Cellouiod Dreams (2006), for the National Museum of Singapore's Living Galleries
• Sin Sai Hong (2006)
• After The Rain (2007)
• My SARS Lover (2008)
• Little Note (2009)
• Anniversary (2009)
• No Admittance (2010)
• Ah Kong (2010)
• FishLove (2010)
• I want to remember (2011)
• Vicky (2014)
• 033713 (2014)
• Bunga Sayang (2015), as part of the anthology 7 Letters

Other work

• Remains (1995) Music Video
• Erase (1996) Music Video
• Kisses (1997) Music Video
• 4A Florence Close (1998) Home Video
• Birdsong (2010) TV movie
• Old Places (2010) TV movie
• Journey to the West Pioneer Generation Video (2015) Advertorial

Filmography as actor

• The Teenage Textbook Movie (1998)
• Pong (1999)
• Be with Me (2005)

Awards

1995

• NTU's All-School Students' Photo-Videographic Competition: First prize for Music Video "Remains"

1996

• National Panasonic Video Award for Music Video for "Erase"

1997

• UTV International Book Prize for "Adam.Eve.Steve"

1998

• Bios MTV Awards 2nd prize for Music Video for "Kisses"

1999/2000

• Hong Kong IDN Excellence in Digital Imaging Award for "Senses"

2000

• 13th Singapore International Film Festival

Best Short Film for "Sons"

Special Achievement Award for "Sons"

2001

• Singapore Short Film Festival – The Voice Award for "Mother"
• 6th Malaysian Video Awards: ASEAN Director of the Year – Silver Award
• 23rd JVC Video Award – Silver Award for "Sons"

2002

• The National Arts Council – Young Artist of the Year 2002
• 21st Uppsala International Short Film Festival (Sweden) – International Jury Honorary Mention for "Hock Hiap Leong"
• 6th Thai Short Film and Video Festival – Best International Short Film Award for "15"
• Asian Television Awards 2002 – Technical and Creative Winner

Best of Show

Best Cinematography Award

• Promax Asia 2002 – Silver for "48 on AIDS"
• 15th Singapore International Film Festival – Special Achievement Award for Short Film "15"
• "Fest Forward" – Audience Choice for "15"
• Tampere International Film Festival – Jury’s Diploma of Merit Award for "Hock Hiap Leong"

2003

• Filmlet 2003 – Best International Short Film
• Brief Encounter Short Film Festival 2003
• Best International Short Film
• Kurzfilmtage Winterthur 2003 – Promotion Prize of the International Competition 03
• 22nd Uppsala International Short Film Festival (Sweden) "UppsalaFilmkaja" Award
• Mecal Film Festival – Special Mention for "15" (short film)
• 16th Singapore International Film Festival – NETPAC-FIPRESCI Jury World Critic Award for "15: The Movie"
• Newport International Film Festival – Honorable Mention for "15"
• Oberhausen Short Film Festival – Special Mention Award for "15"
• Tampere Film Festival – Best Fiction Award for "15"
• Hong Kong Independent Short Film & Video Awards – Asian New Force 2003 Critics Awards for Short Film for "15"
• New York Film and Television Award – Silver for "48 on AIDS"

2004

• Hall of Fame – Best Family TVC (Starhub)
• 10th Lyon Asian Film Festival – Press Award for 2nd Best Film for "15"
• TIME Magazine – "Top 20 Asian Heroes"
• Panasonic Digital Filmmaker Awards 2004 First Prize for "Cut"
• 2004 Busan Asian Short Film Festival Excellent Kodak Film Award for "15" (short film)
• Buenos Aires VI Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente

Signis Special Mention Award for "15: The Movie"

Best Director Award for "15: The Movie"

• Deauville Asian Film Festival – Special Jury Award for "15: The Movie"

2005

• 3rd Vladivostok Pacific Meridian Film Festival – Best Short Film for "Cut"
• Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival – Canal+ Award 2005 for "Cut"

2006

• 2006 Hawaii International Film Festival NETPAC award – (4:30)
• 2006 Sapporo Short Shorts Special award – (Monkeylove)
• 2006 HAF Award – "132"
• 2006 Fitzroy Short Film Festival – Audience Prize for "Monkeylove"
• Geneva Black Movie Festival – Special Mention Award for "4:30"

2007

• Main Prize of the 5th Festival Signes de Nuit for "Monkeylove"
• Winner of the Silver Screen Gangster Award
• 29th Clermont-Ferrand Film Festival Grand prix for "Monkeylove"

2009

• 22nd Singapore International Film Festival – Singapore Film Awards: Best Director for "12 Lotus"

2010

• 1st Singapore Short Film Awards – Honorary Award for "outstanding contribution to the film community through short films"

Controversy

In June 2010, Tan 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.^[2]

References

External links

• Royston Tan Official website
• Royston Tan's 4:30 Interview on Youtube
• Royston Tan's blogspot
• Royston Tan at the Internet Movie Database