Introducing Kancil 666 Young directors challenge winner Chevie Law

MARKETING Magazine met up Kancil 666 Young Directors challenge winner, the talented Chevie Law, to dig deeper into her winning film “In Memories”. We would also like to note that Chevie is now part of the Directors Think Tank team…

Congratulations on the win Chevie! Can you tell us more about yourself and how you entered the production industry?

I originally graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Advertising & Media Production at the University of Canberra, Australia.

I then had my career kick-started in the creative line as a producer, but took a short hiatus there as I took over my family business in the metal industry.

I re-embraced the creative field in 2017 where I participated in the Macau short film competition along with two of my close friends and we won first place. I believe that victory really gave me the confidence to try out scriptwriting and short film directing.

What prompted you to submit your work for “The Kancil 666 Young Directors Challenge”?

My mom.  Of course not to forget my highly supportive friends urged me to join the challenge since we saw this as a great opportunity to chase after our dreams while making films with the six widely established production houses who were involved!

Also a really close friend of mine, Westby Wang promised to be my actor if I was selected as the finalist.

Originally, I was a little worried with regards to my language proficiency especially when it came to writing the proposal and subtitles. Thankfully, another good friend of mine, Anson Tung, offered his help to be the translator.

I loved the concept behind “In Memories”. How did you come up with the idea?

The story is about the significant differences between a wedding and a funeral. And whether you see more people attend a wedding or a funeral.

The idea was inspired by a late good friend who left us 14 years ago. It feels almost like yesterday when my friend realised he was suffering from leukemia.

He had a special request for me, that one day when he moved on to a better place, he wanted me to note who attended his funeral and what was said.

He was really curious about the attendees and their last words to him. Of course, I was filled with load of questions but felt too awkward to ask.

Soon when my dad, sister and a few friends also passed away, I realised the meaninguful moments at a funeral.

What was it like working with the Directors Think Tank (DTT) team?

I heard that Iska Hashim and Rajay Singh took this idea and brought it up to the Kancils committee and I am so glad they did.

I was lucky to be teamed up with DTT and director Rajay who gave me lots of space when it came to creativity, and most importantly his trust in me.

He told me that winning the challenge was only a bonus. What mattered most was the experience of doing it, and the excitement of making my story come alive.

I asked him whether a newbie like me would dilute the expectations of the challenge, but he answered that was the whole point of the challenge!

Not to mention that DTT has a very professional team, especially the producer Shu Ying for her attentive management and executive producers Tek Nam and Pat Singh for backing me up all the time.

It sure was an unforgettable experience for me!