Hero
-Drama
Director: Sun Ji
Country: Singapore
Length: 23min 48s
Language: Mandarin
Subtitle: English
Completed date: 2014
School: Temasek Polytechnic
Hero (Chinese: 英雄) is a 2014 short film set in 1980s Singapore. It weaves together action and drama as it follows a father who wants to leave his undesirable life in the underworld to pursue a simpler and better life with his daughter. Hero explores the themes of fatherly love and brotherhood during a unique decade when life is not as fast paced as today’s society. How far will a father go, to become a hero in his daughter’s eyes?
Director: Sun Ji
Writer: Sun Ji
Producer: Nikko Koh
DP: Koh Yu Wei
Editor: Gavril Hing
Cast: Zheng Geping, Isabel Yamada, Ryan Lian, Veracia Yong, Vincent Tee, Zen Wong, David Bala
Film Festival Awards:
New York Festival's World's Best TV & Films - Silver in Best Student Film Category
Film Festivals Appearances:
Golden Panda North American International Short Film Festival
Directors's message:
There was a time when I was in a gang. I would call myself a gangster and be proud of it. Although I was only in secondary school, I thought that I had a bright future in this field. When I finally quit the gang and started focusing on a career in filmmaking, there was only one thought I had in mind. I wanted to be able to tell my audiences about the experiences I’ve had and the life I’d led. And that was my motivation in making Hero. There was a time in Singapore, when being a gangster was just like any other profession and it didn’t define a person. It was just something that a person did to put food on the table. Today, a large section of the Singaporean society tends to associate the term gangster with the identity of a person. It seems to have become very difficult for people to differentiate between what someone does and who they are. When I made Hero I just wanted to show people what gangsters were like in Singapore during the 1980s. That they were more than just violent men trying to kill each other. They were also a son, brother, husband, and a father. And this what I want to tell whoever watches Hero – There is more to someone than just what they do.
About the filmmaker
Sun Ji
Biography: Graduated from Digital Audio Video Production "ITE" to Moving Images "Temasek Polytechnic", those journey brought Kee Swee San (Sun Ji) into understanding the importance of his own direction and style in film making.
Heavily inspired by various directors such as Ang Lee, Clint Eastwood and Hirokazu Koreeda, Sun love to explore social, political and also cultural issues that challenges human emotions. he believes that humans can carry complicated messages without revealing their physical biography.
Every human have several emotional appearances, mainly the “Interior” and “Exterior”. The exterior, known to expose the facade and pleasant side of us whereas the interior on the other hand, known to reveal the true objectives and identity.
