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SINGAPORE : If there is one thing you cannot accuse Yeo Joon Han of, it’s selling out. The Malaysian lawyer-turned-advertising executive actually gave up his well-paying job back in 1999 to become a full-time filmmaker.
Nobody would have guessed that it would all pay off in spades, though.
The 39-year-old’s tongue-in-cheek comedy "Sell Out!" premiered at the 65th Venice International Film Festival (VIFF) last year and walked away with the acclaimed Altre Visioni Award. It also clinched the Netpac Award at the 2008 Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival, and garnered hot international buzz at film festivals in Pusan, Vancouver and the recent Singapore International Film Festival.
It’s an impressive feat for any film, much less a debut feature from an up-and-coming Southeast Asian director with only two short films under his belt.
“I wanted to make a movie that my mother can watch, laugh and enjoy!” said Yeo.
“Especially after she told me that my other 10-minute short film (Adults Only, which won special mention at the 2006 VIFF) felt like 30 minutes long! So I actually cast my aunt in "Sell Out!" (as a typical, er, aunty). I’m sure my mother will find that funny!”
It is this self-deprecating and facetious humour that makes his sassy satire of Malaysian, or even South-east Asian, cultural and political quirks such irreverent yet clever fun.
For this filmmaker who studied six years in Singapore on a scholarship, it’s all about pushing the envelope - a sentiment that his media company investor, Astro Shaw, was supportive of.
“My film is about creativity versus commercialism, and at first I thought I had to play it safe,“ he said. “I wasn’t about to make a film that didn’t generate any returns. It wouldn’t be fair with such a big investment from Astro Shaw.
“But to my surprise, they told me not to worry and do the film I wanted to do. They told me to not hold back and let the censors do their job when the time came. They were great.”
His black comedy pastiche is interspersed with musical numbers and karaoke lyrics, and all about getting audiences to laugh, lower their defences and see beyond the surface slapstick comedy.
“I love making people laugh,” Yeo said. “I think that humour is the best way to deal with all problems in life. I made a comedy because that’s how I live my life, making jokes along the way, even when the issues are serious. Hopefully, people will look deeper and take away something more from the film.”
Sell Out! is out now at cinemas. - TODAY/il
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