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Originally uploaded by spuNkymoNky.

Film making never crossed my mind when I was growing up... I guess it's because it was something mom did. A film set was a place where mom worked. However I was always interested in photography. At thirteen when I started secondary school at St. John's Institution Kuala Lumpur I joined the photography society. I never would have imagined that the basic fundamental, which I leant then are of value to me now. It's funny how something, which was all fun and games, then (now even more fun and games) has turned out to be an asset in a well rewarding career...

Through out school I dreamed of being a pilot. Only because of the frills attached to the job. It seemed 'so cool' but not to anyone’s surprise my grades weren't that great. So Instead of flying school I started college majoring in computer systems engineering. After the first semester, the reality of doing calculus my entire life freaked me out!! But I did not dare tell dad I had a change of heart. So I did what any strong willed teenager shit scared of his dad would do… I ingested more calculus… My academic achievements stayed true to form and never peeked, but my snooker game did...

Somewhere in the middle of my third semester, an opportunity to escape the hells of calculus appeared before me in the newspapers. I came across a pilot recruitment ad for Malaysian airlines and naturally I jumped at the opportunity. By some obscure cosmic mix-up, I breezed through 3 interviews, 2 physicals, a reflex, a physic, math and an English test... After recovering from the initial shock realizing that I was going to be a pilot I gladly dropped college, waved my friends goodbye and religiously bummed around waiting for the airline to send me off to flight school. Then true to form, Murphy’s Law came into effect a mere two months before I was scheduled to leave. The airlines realized they had over projected their expansion and immediately froze their recruitment program, which was coincidently about 500 pilots too late. Can you imagine putting all those guys through flight school and only then realizing that there will not be enough... Needless to say I never went to flying school... Not to anybody's surprise the airline’s management step down and I was left with no job, no degree and absolutely no idea of a future... So I went through the motion of doing everything under the sun from direct marketing, to working in a brokerage firm trading millions (none of which mine) and finally ended up at a bank. Somewhere around this time, I got married, had a baby... And got divorced.

December '95 was when I first started in film. My first assignment was Assistant Casting Master at JHA Production (Malaysia). It was here that I found my true calling. After a couple of months in JHA and seeing how everything works, my interest in directing grew. But somehow I knew that the path to achieve my goal was to start producing and work my way up. In July 96' I started in the production department as Liner Producer. I worked there another year and a half until I produced a couple of award winning spots that got loads of attention. This boosted my confidence as a producer and I teamed up with a director friend to start up Boo Films in April of '98.

Boo Films was a small but profitable company. As Executive Producer I was responsible for building client relations, overseeing the running of productions and the day to day running of the office. I would also 1st AD on shoots whenever needed... Now somewhere in October 2000, I was given my first break to direct a TV Commercial. It was a dream come true. I still remember the call I received from the agency producer inviting me for a brief, and saying the CD wanted to try me out as a director... It was unbelievable. I couldn't sleep that night.

I continued on as Executive Producer as well as directing until I resigned my post and sold my shares in Boo Films in June 2001. From that point on I've been freelancing as a director and been enjoying every minute of it.


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