NOW, WATCH ME

Diverting and arresting, these four Malaysian video creators know how to keep you stay put during the outlandish present.

- Syazil Abd Rahim

SOON KING YAW (@IAMK7NG.WIXSITE)

Soon King Yaw is a Tawau born filmmaker and graphic designer who has a number of global recognitions under his belt for his work in art and moviemaking. He first showcased his video production talent that when his lecturer at The One Academy, Malaysia signed him up for a music video competition on the 8TV The Ultimate Song Reality Show in 2013, which won him the Best Music Video award. “The whole experience was exhilarating, and it inspired me to learn more about filmmaking.” He then made an extremely intuitive decision: to pursue studying film in the United States where he graduated summa cum laude from San Francisco State University with a BA in Cinema in 2018.

For Soon, filmmaking is his sole creative outlet, allowing him to combine his passion in painting, graphic design, music and storytelling into a visceral visual experience. Classical painting inspires his film composition while music sharpens his instinct when it comes to communicating emotion. They are reflected in most of his expressive works. One of them is his recent short film All I Did Was Smile and Say Hello, which is comprised of the first-rate animation with affecting voice-over narration and movie score, and a deeply personal message that promotes awareness for the growing discrimination of the Asian-American community during this pandemic. “I think it’s futile to force a message onto people. I’d rather let my work take on its own form as it interacts with the audience, and it’s more powerful when the audience instill their own meaning to the film based on their own life experience,” said Soon. The piece was featured as an opening film for the prestigious KQED Homemade Film Festival 2020.