Saw Teong Hin () is a

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

, best known for directing the

Malay language Malay (; ms, Bahasa Melayu, links=no, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , Rejang script, Rencong: ) is an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language that is an official language of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, and that is also spo ...

epic fantasy film ''

Puteri Gunung Ledang The legend revolves around a celestial princess who lived on Mount Ledang, located in present-day Tangkak District, Johor, Malaysia. Puteri Gunung Ledang (Johor legend) The sultan had heard of the princess' beauty and wanted to marry her, but s ...

'' and '' You Mean the World to Me'', the first Malaysian film filmed entirely in Hokkien.

Early life and education

Saw was born in

George Town, Penang ) , short_description = Capital city of the Malaysian state of Penang , image_map = , map_caption = Location of George Town in Penang , pushpin_map = Penang#Malaysia#Asia#Earth , pushpin_maps ...

in the year of 1962 to Quah Cheng Sooi and Saw Seng Chuan; both

Hokkien The Hokkien () variety of Chinese is a Southern Min language native to and originating from the Minnan region, where it is widely spoken in the south-eastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is one of the national languages in ...

people. His paternal grandfather was adopted, likely from his great-grandfather who had conducted businesses in the northern states. He received a scholarship to study double physics and mathematics at the

National University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national public research university in Singapore. Founded in 1905 as the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States Government Medical School, NUS is the oldest autonomous university in the c ...

, 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 , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

to live on his own after finishing his stint at the university. 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 Ogilvy is a New York City-based British advertising, marketing, and public relations agency. It was founded in 1850 by Edmund Mather as a London-based agency. In 1964, the firm became known as Ogilvy & Mather after merging with a New York City a ...

who referred him to

Joe Hasham Joseph Christopher Hasham ( OAM) ( ar, جو هشام) (born 4 September 1948 Tripoli, Lebanon) is a Lebanese Australian actor and artistic theatre director who became famous in Australia in the 1970s through his long running role of dependab ...

, who offers Saw a job in his company as production assistant and later advertisement film director.

Career

Other projects

Saw was selected to become the creative director for both opening and closing ceremonies of the

2017 Southeast Asian Games Seventeen or 17 may refer to: *17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18 * one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017 Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine * ''Seventeen'' (Japanes ...

Filmography

Film

Awards

References

External links

* {{Malaysian film directors Living people Malaysian film directors

Saw A saw is a tool consisting of a tough blade, wire, or chain with a hard toothed edge. It is used to cut through material, very often wood, though sometimes metal or stone. The cut is made by placing the toothed edge against the material and mo ...

Malaysian people of Hokkien descent Malaysian people of Chinese descent People from Penang 1962 births