BIO

I was born in Hong Kong during the golden age of Hong Kong movies, but I didn’t know it at the time: my dad was a civil servant in the colonial government — worlds away from the mean streets of Bruce Lee.

It wasn’t till I was 17 and living in England that I discovered documentary films. A teacher showed our class a film called The Battle of Chile. It had such an impact that I decided to study Spanish at university, live in Chile and do my university thesis on the film. At the same time, I began to imagine making my own films. 

After graduating, I went to the Cuban film school (EICTV) for a short course. In Havana, I stumbled on a boarding school for boxers, where eight year olds trained six hours a day with the hope of becoming Olympians. I was amazed, shot some material and managed to get it into the hands of a commissioning editor at WNET in New York. He took a gamble on a first-timer and funded me to spend a year in Havana making Sons of Cuba - an incredible privilege. The film won multiple awards and sold worldwide.   

Soon after, Channel 4 asked me to go to Afghanistan and make a film about local filmmakers working under death threats from the Taliban. I interviewed local movie stars and Taliban insurgents to make Afghanistan: Lights, Camera, Death Threats.

Through documentary making, I was lucky to break into directing commercials. They have been a film school and a passport to the world, allowing me to work on a scale that was unthinkable when I was self-shooting docs. I’ve carved a niche directing mini dramas: small narratives told within a compressed time-frame. The most successful of these,  Love Story for Movistar, amassed over 30 million online views and was awarded Best Viral Film at the  Webby’s 2019.

Making commercials has given me the time to work on what has become my biggest passion: writing for the screen. For the past two years, I’ve steadily honed my voice and craft. I look forward to bringing some projects to the screen soon.  

You can see which films I’ve been watching here.

FEATURES - selected awards

British Documentary Association — Grierson Award for the Best Newcomer
British Independent Film Awards — Nominated
Rome Intl. Film Festival — Best Documentary
Sheffield Doc Fest — Youth Jury Award
Havana Film Festival — Best Film by a Non-Latin Director

COMMERCIALS - selected awards

Cannes Gold Lion
Cannes Bronze Lion X 3
D&AD — Best Cinema Commercial
Shots Award — Best Film Over 3 Minutes
Webby — Best Viral Film