Yen Tan (born 1975) is a Malaysian-born American independent film producer and director.

Early life

Tan emigrated from

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 ...

at the age of 19 and is based in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

Career

He is known for award-winning films ''

Happy Birthday Happy Birthday may refer to: * "Happy Birthday", an expression of good will offered on a person's birthday Film, theatre and television * ''Happy Birthday'' (1998 film), a Russian drama by Larisa Sadilova * ''Happy Birthday'', a 2001 film featu ...

'' (2002) and '' Deadroom'' (2005). He also directed the gay-themed ''

Ciao ''Ciao'' ( , ) is an informal salutation in the Italian language that is used for both "hello" and "goodbye". Originally from the Venetian language, it has entered the vocabulary of English and of many other languages around the world. Its du ...

'' (2008) that he had co-written with the film's lead actor Alessandro Calza. His screenwriting lab semi-finalist screenplay ''Pit Stop'' was selected by the

Outfest Outfest is an LGBTQ-oriented nonprofit that produces two film festivals, operates a movie streaming platform, and runs educational services for filmmakers in Los Angeles. Outfest is one of the key partners, alongside the Frameline Film Festival ...

Screenwriting Lab. The film also screened at the 2013

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

. He was also a finalist for the prestigious Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise.

Personal life

Tan is openly gay.Queerious: Yen Tan's ''Pit Stop''
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Filmography

Director

;Feature films *2002: ''

'' *2005: '' Deadroom'' (Co-directed with James M. Johnston, David Lowery and Nick Prendergast) *2008: ''

'' *2013: '' Pit Stop'' *2018: ''

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

'' ;Shorts *2001: ''Love Stories'' *2008: ''Coda'' *2011: ''Wanted'' *2016: ''1985''

Producer

*2005: ''Deadroom'' *2008: ''Coda'' (short) *2008: ''My Mom Smokes Weed'' (short)

Actor

*2011: ''3 Thumbs Up'' as himself (documentary)

Awards

;For ''Happy Birthday *2002: Won the Jury Prize for "Best Feature - Gay Male" at the

Philadelphia International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival Philadelphia QFest was founded in Philadelphia as the Philadelphia Gay and Lesbian Film Festival by TLA Entertainment Group in 1995. It was given its current name, QFest, in 2009. One of the festival's founders and current Artistic Director, Raymond ...

*2002: Won New Directors Showcase - Bets Feature award at the Portland LGBT Film Festival *Also earned an honorable mention at Image+Nation in Montreal ;For Deadroom *2005: Won Director's Award at the Texas Film Festival (sharing with James M. Johnston, David Lowery and Nick Prendergast)

References

External links

* 1975 births Living people Malaysian film producers American film producers Malaysian film directors American film directors Malaysian emigrants to the United States LGBT film directors LGBT producers Gay men Malaysian LGBT people American LGBT people of Asian descent {{US-film-director-1970s-stub