Saw Teong Hin (Chinese: 蘇倧興; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: So͘ Tiong-hèng) is a Malaysian film director, best known for directing the Malay language epic fantasy film Puteri Gunung Ledang[1] and You Mean the World to Me, the first Malaysian film filmed entirely in Hokkien.[2]

Saw Teong Hin
蘇倧興
Born24 August 1962 (1962-08-24) (age 62)
NationalityMalaysian
OccupationFilm director

Early life and education

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Saw was born in George Town, Penang in the year of 1962 to Quah Cheng Sooi and Saw Seng Chuan; both Hokkien people. His paternal grandfather was adopted, likely from his great-grandfather who had conducted businesses in the northern states.[3]

He received a scholarship to study double physics and mathematics at the National University of Singapore, though he never graduated. It was also during this period that he decided to switch interests. Saw felt an immense guilt over his eventual failure, even though his parents would still accept the outcome, thus he went straight to Kuala Lumpur to live on his own after finishing his stint at the university.[3] He took interest in the field of advertising, calling as many agencies as he could asking for any job vacancies available. His calls went unnoticed except for one lady from Ogilvy and Mather who referred him to Joe Hasham, who offers Saw a job in his company as production assistant and later advertisement film director.[3]

Career

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Other projects

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Saw was selected to become the creative director for both opening and closing ceremonies of the 2017 Southeast Asian Games.[4][5]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2004 Puteri Gunung Ledang Director, screenplay
2008 Apa Kata Hati? Director, screenplay
2012 Hoore! Hoore! Director, screenplay
2015 Jejak Warrior Director, screenplay
2017 You Mean the World to Me Director, screenplay In hokkien penang language
2018 Rise: Ini Kalilah Director Co-directed with Nik Amir Mustapha and Prem Nath

Awards

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Year Award Category Work Result
2005 18th Malaysia Film Festival Best Director Puteri Gunung Ledang Won
Best Screenplay Won
2017 29th Malaysia Film Festival Best Screenplay You Mean The World To Me Won

References

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  1. ^ Mok, Opalyn (14 September 2014). "10 things about: Saw Teong Hin, award-winning producer/director and son of Penang". Malay Mail. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  2. ^ Bissme S. (21 April 2017). "A family affair". The Sun. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  3. ^ a b c "The Chinese Malaysian who directs Malay films". The Nut Graph. 18 October 2010. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  4. ^ "Director Saw to produce 2017 SEA Games opening, closing events". New Straits Times. 15 April 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2017 – via PressReader.
  5. ^ Asri Yussof (21 August 2017). "Lelaki Penting Disebalik Kejayaan Persembahan Pembukaan SEA Games 2017". pts.com.my (in Malay). Retrieved 23 August 2017.
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