It looks like Quek Shio Chuan and Shio Yee are set on becoming household names in the filmmaking and music industries. Twenty-five-year-old Shio Chuan, better known as Quek, has just won the fifth edition of the BMW Shorties short film competition, with his heart warming film on autism called, Guang.
Share this article
FACEBOOK
TWITTER
EMAIL THIS
SHARE
The film beat 113 other entries to win the Grand Prize Award, and had also won awards for Best Screenplay (Quek), Best Sound Design (Anne Lee) and Best Actor (Chen Chong Wei).
Younger sister Shio Yee, who goes by the moniker “Shiomaru” in the Anime, Comics and Games (ACG) scene, has a steady following, thanks to her fondness for cosplay and impressive talents in song writing, singing and playing multiple instruments. She wrote one of the songs for Guang.
Quek said that his BMW Shorties 2011 win was a “dream come true”.
“I had wanted to join it since 2008, but we knew we weren’t up for it yet, being students. This year, we told ourselves ‘mati-mati’ (regardless of anything) we have to join it. I had a lot of university course mates and juniors involved,” said the broadcasting graduate from Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, who had won national-level awards with class assignment projects such as music video Contaminated (2008) and documentary Tidal Tales (2009).
Reservoir Production -- a Kuala Lumpur-based production house -- partner Chow Chung Son offered Quek a job, after he watched Tidal Tales. Quek is now a line producer there.
His latest film, Guang, tells the story of Wen Guang -- an autistic adult with an obsession for glasses, who also possesses precision in measurements. It is a Mandarin film, with English subtitles.
His younger brother (played by Quek) tries to get Wen Guang a job, but faces mounting challenges -- including his own prejudices. The story reveals the misperceptions of society toward autistic people and the problems of acceptance that they face.
Wen Guang’s story and personalities are partly based on Quek’s real life elder brother, Shio Gai -- a high-functioning autistic who tutors in Mathematics at Universiti Malaya. “The best stories are those familiar to you,” Quek shared.
It was difficult to cast for Wen Guang, but Quek finally found TV drama actor Chen, four days before shooting began. Chen spent some time with Shio Gai to learn his gestures, mimic his stiff upper body, his curled up fingers, and his distracted line of sight.
Quek included Shio Gai’s antics into the script, such as using three chopsticks to eat, smelling his food before eating, keeping a small soft toy bear in his pocket as his companion, and cutting his shirt labels. However, his siblings say that he has stopped making holes in his shirts.
One of the judges, award-winning independent filmmaker Khairil M. Bahar (Ciplak, 2006) said: “Chen's performance is mind-blowing. It's not easy to portray people with disabilities and if you get it wrong, you'll either come across as a joke or offensive, and yet Chen's performance is pitch-perfect -- you relate and sympathise with him within the first 60 seconds, and believe the character completely!”
Shio Gai’s condition is less severe than Wen Guang’s. Shio Gai has a full set of piano keys at home -- minus the rest of the piano -- which he could play, as well as listen to the melodies in his head -- which still amuses his family today.
Both Shio Gai and Shio Yee have perfect pitch.
“I’m not as great as he is,” admitted Shio Yee, 21, a third year music student at UCSI University, who holds diplomas in piano and violin.
Shio Gai’s father and teachers used to scold him, saying things like, “Why can’t you be like a normal person?” Quek’s role in Guang embodies this ignorance, setting a harrowing tension in the film.
Today, the Quek family has come a long way in learning about autism, acceptance and of Shio Gai’s talents in music and mathematics.
“The judges’ decision for the Grand Prize Award was unanimous,” Khairil revealed.
“I think if Quek didn't have the opportunity to shoot it the way it was shot and just used a hand phone camera (instead), the story would still stand out above all else, and that's why it won,” Khairil said.
Quek’s bosses gave him the capital for his film and loaned the gears, while their crew joined in the shoot. Ismail Kamarul, a partner in the company, even co-wrote the script with Quek, and acted in a small role as the bus conductor.
“Which company will let you shoot a short film with their money? I’ve been here only for a year and a half, and they have so much of faith and trust in me. They are more than my employers; they are my close friends and like my mentors,” said the happy employee.
“I especially enjoyed the two days of shoot; it was really joyful for me. When you are shooting for commercial (purpose) and for passion, it is different. A lot of them didn’t get to shoot a story-based project before, so they were very passionate and did things they wouldn’t usually do,” said Quek, who hails from Batu Pahat, Johor.
In his past films, Quek had usually worn many hats in front of and behind the camera, but working with a professional company has taught him one important thing -- he can’t do everything by himself.
In Guang, Quek held only four roles: as director, editor, script writer and supporting actor.
“It’s because we couldn’t find anyone else for the (role of the) younger brother, that I acted. I actually promised myself I won’t act anymore,” said Quek, who has even composed music and rapped for his previous videos.
A highly driven person, Quek’s friends have told him that he’s arrogant, but Quek laughs it off, sheepishly.
“I’m not hard to work with, but I push you a lot!” he clarified, with a wide grin.
One thing consistent in Quek’s works is that he always features Shio Yee’s musical work. For Guang, she wrote a waltz.
“It’s a very relaxing thing because he’s my brother; anything he doesn’t like he can tell me. He’s not a client. It takes a lot of pressure off working with him,” said Shio Yee, who has won and judged in various anime-related singing competitions.
Quek has similar praise for his younger sister: “It’s very easy to work with her; you don’t need to show her visuals. Just tell her the story.”
Shio Yee recently self-produced an anime tribute album called, Shiomaru, A Tribute Album, with eight songs that she had composed, played instruments and sang in. One of the songs conveys her sympathy and hope for Japan’s earthquake victims.
For someone without any vocal training, Shio Yee sings remarkably well. It is no wonder that her online fans have been asking for a recording, for quite some time now.
Quek will have more work for his sister soon. He has not decided what the genre or story will be yet, but he is aiming high, as always.
His BMW Shorties 2011 win came with a RM75,000 grant to shoot a full-length film, and a Sony Handycam NEX-VG20E camcorder. He is giving the camera to his company as a thank you gift (but he will get to use it anyway).
“I think we’ll take a break before going for the next competition. Let’s hope Guang, and the next film we produce, will win in international festivals,” he said.
A private architect firm and the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) have joined forces and launched an urban renewal initiative to turn a run-down low-cost flat in Petaling Jaya into a pleasant living environment for its residents.
The mock run of the national-level Youth Parliament will be held in April. Deputy Youth Minister and Senator Gan Ping Sieu said that the trial session will involve 100 participants selected by the Malaysian Youth Council (MYC).
It would seem that firing staff would have a detrimental effect on loyalty trust. But author Joe Healey claims the opposite, suggesting that in a situation of high loyalty trust, firing is seen in a rather different light. This article explores why this is the case.
A handful of local tourism operators have creatively ventured into responsible tourism (RT) and are setting the example in successfully making money while preserving the environment and helping the local communities.
Sharing is a concept most of us learn either in or before primary school. Usually, we learn it in the negative form when sharing means having to give up something.
Zhariff Afandi was almost rejected from enrolling into a primary school because he had no arms. But the confident young child said to the headmaster, “I can do this,” and showed him that he could use his feet as efficiently as any boy could with his hands.
People with limited freedom of movement -- either from old age or from being wheelchair bound -- face many obstacles in going outdoors, but thanks to a number of local organisations, they don’t have to stay home all the time.
Subscribe to this comment's feed
Show/Hide comments
Show/Hide comment form
