Kelvin Sng

Kelvin Sng (born April 28, 1974) is a Singaporean film director.

Kelvin Sng
Born (1974-04-28) April 28, 1974
Singapore
OccupationFilm director
Years active2004—present
Websitewww.ksp.sg

Life and career

Kelvin completed his Advanced Diploma in Film Production (Directing) at Ngee Ann Polytechnic after receiving the Media Education Scheme Award from the Media Development Authority (MDA) of Singapore in 2004. His 2005 short film "More Than Words", a tribute to the late Asian songstress Teresa Teng, has been officially invited to be screened and compete at international film festivals around the world including France, Italy, Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, Romania and Africa. In 2006, Kelvin was awarded the Script Development Grant by the Singapore Film Commission to develop "More Than Words" into a feature film screenplay. That same year, his thesis film "Kichiro" premiered at the Beijing Film Academy at the 5th International Student Film and Video Festival to a crowd of more than 1000.

In 2010, Kelvin wrote, produced and directed "The Gang", a 32-minute mini feature, which is currently being developed into a full-length feature film. “The Gang” premiered at The Grand Cathay to great reviews and enjoyed a successful one-month run at Sinema Old School. It was also screened at various film festivals including “Sinema Showoff! The Fortune Cookie Collection” where it was the curator’s pick, as well as the 4th La Cabina International Medium Length Film Festival of Valencia in Spain, where it was one of the official selections together with 14 other films out of a few hundred entries around the world.

Kelvin’s experience as a former teacher and Head of Department (HOD) with the Ministry of Education has also shaped his desire to be a lifelong educator. This eventually led him to become a much sought-after trainer in various film and theatre programmes, having trained students, teachers and adults in more than 200 schools, institutions and organisations to date. Together with his team of trainers who are also industry practitioners, they serve as a bridge between the film/theatre industry and schools with relevant and practical knowledge, inspiring new blood to enter the industry and contribute to its growth.

Since 2008, Kelvin has been the Managing Director of Kelvin Sng Productions Pte Ltd, which focuses on production, education and corporate in film and theatre. Kelvin produced Chai Yee Wei's award-winning short film "My Blue Heaven", which was screened internationally in several film festivals, as well as the acclaimed short film "The Buddy", which was part of a series of short films known as 15 Shorts created by veteran film producer Daniel Yun.

As Executive Producer, Kelvin has produced "The Forgotten", a mid-length film produced by Eusoff Works, the film production arm of Eusoff Hall at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and "Steadfast", another mid-length action film boasting an international cast directed by newcomers David Liu and Linus Chen. The letter received "Honourable Mention" at the Los Angeles Movie Awards 2010.

In addition, Kelvin has worked closely with various organizations and institutions such as Blackmagic Design Asia, Singapore Media Academy, the Substation, Canon Singapore and the British Council to support and promote filmmaking in Singapore. He has also curated film screenings for several organisations including Toronto-Singapore Film Festival to help promote local films abroad.

Kelvin's extensive body of works also include television commercials, music videos and the 45-minute mini feature "Fairytales".[1] “Fairytales” premiered at the 24th Singapore International Film Festival as a double bill with “The Gang” to a full house crowd at Shaw Lido, and has been commercially released on DVD by Innoform Media.

Kelvin’s debut feature film “Taxi! Taxi!” starring top comedians Mark Lee and Gurmit Singh and inspired by the local best seller “Diary of a Taxi Driver”, was released theatrically in both Singapore and Malaysia in January 2013. It was the second highest grossing local film after Jack Neo's "Ah Boys to Men 2" for that year. Besides being a box office success, "Taxi! Taxi!" was also the first official entry from Singapore at the ASEAN International Film Festival and Awards 2013 held in Sarawak, where it also won the Special Jury Award.

In 2016, Kelvin directed his second feature film "The Fortune Handbook",[2][3] starring Christopher Lee, Mark Lee and Li Nanxing. The CNY-themed comedy film was theatrically released in Singapore and Malaysia on 26 January and 2 February 2017 respectively.

Both “Taxi! Taxi!” and "The Fortune Handbook" crossed the million dollar mark at box offices in Singapore and Malaysia, earning Kelvin the title of million dollar director （百万导演）by the media.

In 2018, Kelvin was invited to be one of the three mentors for 华谊 Icon Search 新星盛典 2018 by Huayi Brothers for the Singapore stop.

Apart from filmmaking and education, Kelvin is also an accomplished lyricist. He has written lyrics for the theme songs of both his feature films “Taxi! Taxi!” and "The Fortune Handbook", as well as for other singers and Mediacorp drama series.

Selected filmography

As director
  • Unbroken (不倒翁; 2017)
  • The Fortune Handbook (财神爷; 2017)
  • Young & Fabulous (最佳伙扮; 2016)
  • Kichiro "Redux" (2016)
  • BFF (有情常在; 2016)
  • Taxi! Taxi! (德士当家; 2013)
  • Fairytales (童话; 2011)
  • The Gang (私会党; 2010)
  • Kichiro (2006)
  • Bad Times (2005)
  • Cafe (2005)
  • More Than Words (千言万语; 2005)
  • Mothers and Sons (2004)

References
  1. "InC - Fairytales: A Journey of Choices and Redemption". In Cinemas Singapore. In Cinemas Singapore. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  2. "The three big Lees of local TV collaborate for the first time in The ..." Straits Times. Straits Times. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  3. "Festive films that do more than entertain". Business Times SG. Business Times SG. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
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