Royston Tan

Royston Tan
Tan at a screening of 7 Letters in London on 17 June 2016
Born (1976-10-05) 5 October 1976 (age 50)
Singapore
Other nameChen Ziqian
EducationZhonghua Secondary School
Alma materTemasek Polytechnic
Occupations
  • Director
  • screenwriter
  • producer
  • actor
Years active1995–present
Parents
  • Tan Chin Cheng (father)
  • Ng Peng Hwy (mother)
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese陳子謙
Simplified Chinese陈子谦
Hanyu PinyinChén Zǐqiān
Hokkien POJTân Chí-khiam
Websiteroyston-tan.blogspot.com

Royston Tan (born 5 October 1976) is a Singaporean filmmaker and actor.

Background

Tan is a graduate from Temasek Polytechnic, where he studied Visual Communications. He first came into prominence through his short films: Sons (2000), Hock Hiap Leong (2001), 48 on AIDS (2002), Mother (2002) and 15 (2002). He has so far directed six features.

In 2021 he was selected as a jury member for the Sonje Award at the 26th Busan International Film Festival.

He was appointed creative director of the Singapore National Day Parade in 2020 and 2023. In 2023, Tan was one of the eight assentors appointed for eventual president-elect Tharman Shanmugaratnam in the 2023 Singaporean presidential election.

Filmography

Tan in 2007

As director

Feature films

Year Title Notes Ref.
2003 15
2006 4:30
2007 881
2008 12 Lotus
2015 3688
2021 24

Short films

  • Adam.Eve.Steve (1997)
  • Jesses (1999)
  • Sons (2000)
  • Hock Hiap Leong (2001)
  • 48 on AIDS (2002)
  • 24 HRS (2002)
  • Mother (2002)
  • 15 (short) (2002)!
  • The Old Man and The River (2003)
  • 177155 (2003)
  • Cut (2004)
  • The Blind Trilogy: Blind / Old Parliament House / Capitol Cinema (2004)
  • The Absentee (2004)
  • Careless Whisperer (2005)
  • New York Girl (2005)
  • Monkeylove (2005)
  • DIY (2005)
  • Cellouiod Dreams (2006), for the National Museum of Singapore's Living Galleries
  • Sin Sai Hong (2006)
  • After The Rain (2007)
  • My SARS Lover (2008)
  • Little Note (2009)
  • Anniversary (2009)
  • No Admittance (2010)
  • Ah Kong (2010)
  • FishLove (2010)
  • I want to remember (2011)
  • Vicky (2014)
  • 033713 (2014)
  • Wedding portrait (2014)
  • 50 First Kisses (2015)
  • Bunga Sayang (2015), as part of the anthology 7 Letters
  • Provision Shop (2016)
  • Half (2022)

Other works

  • Remains (1995) Music video
  • Erase (1996) Music video
  • Kisses (1997) Music video
  • 4A Florence Close (1998) Home video
  • Birdsong (2010) TV movie
  • Old Places (2010) TV movie
  • Singapore Biennale 2013 If The World Changed - Ghost of Capitol Theatre
  • Journey to the West Pioneer Generation Video (2015) Advertorial
  • Voyage (2017) Multimedia musical
  • GeTai Challenge (2018) Guest judge (episode 15-16)
  • High (2020) Interactive film
  • National day Parade (2020)
  • National day Parade (2023)

As actor

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
1998 The Teenage Textbook Movie
1999 Pong
2005 Be with Me

Compilations

Awards

1996

1997

1998

1999/2000

2000

Best Short Film for "Sons"
Special Achievement Award for "Sons"

2001

2002

Best of Show
Best Cinematography Award

2003

2004

Signis Special Mention Award for "15: The Movie"
Best Director Award for "15: The Movie"

2005

2006

2007

2009

2010

2012

2013

2015

2016

2017

2020

2022

References

  1. ↑ "Wowing Audiences With His Films". TP4u.com. Archived from the original on 2 April 2007. Retrieved 8 August 2007.
  2. ↑ Kim Ji-won (24 August 2021). "부산영화제 지석상·비프메세나상·선재상 심사위원 발표…미래 이끌 신인 찾는다" [Busan Film Festival Ji Seok Award, BIFF Mecenat Award, Son Jae Award Jury Announcement… Looking for new talent to lead the future]. Ten Asia (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  3. ↑ "This year, get ready to watch - and smell - an unforgettable NDP show". AsiaOne. 1 July 2023. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  4. ↑ "Ho Kwon Ping, Royston Tan & Muhd Alami Musa among S'poreans publicly supporting Tharman's presidential bid". Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Auto, Hermes (6 September 2021). "Royston Tan's new film 24 will premiere at Busan International Film Festival | The Straits Times". www.straitstimes.com. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  6. ↑ "Pop singers, award-winning filmmakers contribute to opening of the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre". TODAY. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  7. ↑ "GeTai Challenge 2018 歌台星力量 兴-旺-发 - EP15". Archived from the original on 5 October 2018.
  8. ↑ "GeTai Challenge 2018 歌台星力量 兴-旺-发 - EP16". Archived from the original on 5 October 2018.