Royston Tan  | |
|---|---|
![]() Tan at a screening of 7 Letters in London on 17 June 2016  | |
| Born | 5 October 1976 | 
| Other names | Chen Ziqian | 
| Education | Zhonghua Secondary School | 
| Alma mater | Temasek Polytechnic | 
| Occupations | 
  | 
| Years active | 1995–present | 
| Parents | 
  | 
| Chinese name | |
| Traditional Chinese | 陳子謙 | 
| Simplified Chinese | 陈子谦 | 
| Hanyu Pinyin | Chén Zǐqiān | 
| Hokkien POJ | Tân Chí-khiam | 
| Website | royston-tan | 
Royston Tan (born 5 October 1976) is a Singaporean filmmaker and actor.
Tan is a graduate from Temasek Polytechnic, where he studied Visual Communications.[1] 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.[2]
He was appointed creative director of the Singapore National Day Parade in 2020 and 2023.[3] In 2023, Tan was among one of the eight assentors appointed for eventual president-elect Tharman Shanmugaratnam in the 2023 Singaporean presidential election.[4]
Filmography

As director
Feature films
| Year | Title | Notes | Ref | 
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 15 | ||
| 2006 | 4:30 | ||
| 2007 | 881 | [5] | |
| 2008 | 12 Lotus | [5] | |
| 2015 | 3688 | [5] | |
| 2021 | 24 | [5] | 
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)
 - Bunga Sayang (2015), as part of the anthology 7 Letters
 - Provision Shop (2016)
 
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
 - Journey to the West Pioneer Generation Video (2015) Advertorial
 - Voyage (2017) Multimedia musical[6]
 - GeTai Challenge (2018) Guest judge (episode 15-16)[7][8]
 - High (2020) Interactive film
 
As actor
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | The Teenage Textbook Movie | |||
| 1999 | Pong | |||
| 2005 | Be with Me | 
Compilations
- Royston's Shorts (2006) - produced by Tan Bee Thiam
 
Awards
1996
- National Panasonic Video Award for Music Video for "Erase"
 
1997
- UTV International Book Prize for "Adam.Eve.Steve"
 
1998
- Bios MTV Awards 2nd prize for Music Video for "Kisses"
 
1999/2000
- Hong Kong IDN Excellence in Digital Imaging Award for "Senses"
 
2000
- 13th Singapore International Film Festival
 
- Best Short Film for "Sons"
 - Special Achievement Award for "Sons"
 
2001
- Singapore Short Film Festival – The Voice Award for "Mother"
 - 6th Malaysian Video Awards: ASEAN Director of the Year – Silver Award
 - 23rd JVC Video Award – Silver Award for "Sons"
 
2002
- The National Arts Council – Young Artist of the Year 2002
 - 21st Uppsala International Short Film Festival (Sweden) – International Jury Honorary Mention for "Hock Hiap Leong"
 - 6th Thai Short Film and Video Festival – Best International Short Film Award for "15"
 - Asian Television Awards 2002 – Technical and Creative Winner
 
- Best of Show
 - Best Cinematography Award
 
- Promax Asia 2002 – Silver for "48 on AIDS"
 - 15th Singapore International Film Festival – Special Achievement Award for Short Film "15"
 - "Fest Forward" – Audience Choice for "15"
 - Tampere International Film Festival – Jury's Diploma of Merit Award for "Hock Hiap Leong"
 
2003
- Filmlet 2003 – Best International Short Film
 - Brief Encounter Short Film Festival 2003
 - Best International Short Film
 - Kurzfilmtage Winterthur 2003 – Promotion Prize of the International Competition 03
 - 22nd Uppsala International Short Film Festival (Sweden) "UppsalaFilmkaja" Award
 - Mecal Film Festival – Special Mention for "15" (short film)
 - 16th Singapore International Film Festival – NETPAC-FIPRESCI Jury World Critic Award for "15: The Movie"
 - Newport International Film Festival – Honorable Mention for "15"
 - Oberhausen Short Film Festival – Special Mention Award for "15"
 - Tampere Film Festival – Best Fiction Award for "15"
 - Hong Kong Independent Short Film & Video Awards – Asian New Force 2003 Critics Awards for Short Film for "15"
 - New York Film and Television Award – Silver for "48 on AIDS"
 
2004
- Hall of Fame – Best Family TVC (Starhub)
 - 10th Lyon Asian Film Festival – Press Award for 2nd Best Film for "15"
 - TIME Magazine – "Top 20 Asian Heroes"
 - Panasonic Digital Filmmaker Awards 2004 First Prize for "Cut"
 - 2004 Busan Asian Short Film Festival Excellent Kodak Film Award for "15" (short film)
 - Buenos Aires VI Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente
 
- Signis Special Mention Award for "15: The Movie"
 - Best Director Award for "15: The Movie"
 
- Deauville Asian Film Festival – Special Jury Award for "15: The Movie"
 
2005
- 3rd Vladivostok Pacific Meridian Film Festival – Best Short Film for "Cut"
 - Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival – Canal+ Award 2005 for "Cut"
 
2006
- 2006 Hawaii International Film Festival NETPAC award – (4:30)
 - 2006 Sapporo Short Shorts Special award – (Monkeylove)
 - 2006 HAF Award – "132"
 - 2006 Fitzroy Short Film Festival – Audience Prize for "Monkeylove"
 - Geneva Black Movie Festival – Special Mention Award for "4:30"
 
2007
- Main Prize of the 5th Festival Signes de Nuit for "Monkeylove"
 - Winner of the Silver Screen Gangster Award
 - 29th Clermont-Ferrand Film Festival Grand prix for "Monkeylove"
 
2009
- 22nd Singapore International Film Festival – Singapore Film Awards: Best Director for "12 Lotus"
 
2010
- 1st Singapore Short Film Awards – Honorary Award for "outstanding contribution to the film community through short films"
 
References
- ↑ "Wowing Audiences With His Films". TP4u.com. Archived from the original on 2 April 2007. Retrieved 8 August 2007.
 - ↑ 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.
 - ↑ "This year, get ready to watch - and smell - an unforgettable NDP show". AsiaOne. 1 July 2023. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
 - ↑ "Ho Kwon Ping, Royston Tan & Muhd Alami Musa among S'poreans publicly supporting Tharman's presidential bid". Retrieved 27 August 2023.
 - 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.
 - ↑ "Pop singers, award-winning filmmakers contribute to opening of the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre". TODAY. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
 - ↑ "GeTai Challenge 2018 歌台星力量 兴-旺-发 - EP15". Archived from the original on 5 October 2018.
 - ↑ "GeTai Challenge 2018 歌台星力量 兴-旺-发 - EP16". Archived from the original on 5 October 2018.
 
External links
