Low Ngai Yuen

Low Ngai Yuen (劉藝苑) is a Malaysian film director, a producer, an actress and a TV show host. She is also a women's rights activist[2] and an entrepreneur in the arts industry.[3] She directed the production of short films and documentaries that advocate women's rights.[4] Low is the current President of Kakiseni, an NGO platform for the performing arts in Malaysia.[5][6]

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Low.
Low Ngai Yuen
Born1976/1977 (age 43–44)[1]
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
NationalityMalaysia
EducationBachelor of science
Alma materCampbell University
OccupationFilm director, producer
Years active2000 - present
Known forKakiseni, 3R (Malaysian TV series),
WOMEN:Girls, Global Entrepreneurship Movement (GEM).
Notable work
Your World, My World (2003)
Television3R (Malaysian TV series)
TitlePresident of Kakiseni
Spouse(s)Wayne Wong
Children4

Life

Low resides in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with her husband Wayne Wong and four children. She is involved in two main causes: women empowerment and the performing arts. Low is also active in youth inclusion and productivity[7][8] as well as social issues.[3][2] As a working mother, she believes that balance between family life and career starts each day with her children.[9][10] She received a Bachelor of science in biology and chemistry from Campbell University, North Carolina in June 2000. In early 2004, she completed a course on filmmaking at the University of Melbourne, Australia to help improve her skills in filmmaking.[11]

Career

Low currently leads three NGO: Global Entrepreneurship Movement (GEM), Kakiseni and WOMEN:girls. She is also co-founder of four business service companies.

In 2000, Low started hosting a talkshow named 3R, a women's program on TV3.[12][13] She gives credit to her experience at 3R for understanding the media industry and discovering new opportunities.[14] In addition to her TV activities and hosting events, Low directed the TV programs Satelit and Generasi for Astro Ria, a Malaysian 24-hour TV network; and Growing Pains for RTM2, a free-to-air television channel operated by the Radio Television Malaysia.

In 2002, Low's talkshow 3R won the best infotainment programme award at the Asian Television Awards.[15][10][16] Her directorial debut, Your World, My World (2003) won the Best Short Film and The People’s Choice awards[17] at the Starlight Cinema Short Film Festival 2003 in Singapore[10] and the Évian Short Film Festival. Your World, My World was selected for screening at the 8th Manchester International Short Film & Video Festival in 2003 and the 7th Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival, an annual festival devoted to cinematic works from East and Southeast Asia, Asian-Canadian and Asian-American filmmakers.[18][19]

Trio Indonesia, an interactive TV series, was Low's first project as a Director outside of Malaysia. She also wrote and directed a play titled The Girl from Ipoh, a comedy staged in 2005. Low also created and directed 5 Jingga, a series of TV musical drama about youth issues on 8TV that started on 12 August 2008.

In 2008, Low joined the French multinational retailer Carrefour Malaysia and Singapore as its youngest Director of marketing and communications. She worked at this company until January 2012.[20][21]

In 2011, Low was selected as a Subject Matter Expert for the Malaysian Prime Minister’s roundtable on engaging the youth. She then acted as the leader of its performing arts pillar that maps the industry’s growth for the Dasar Industri Kreatif Negara.[22][23][24]

In 2013, Low won in the media and arts category, the Malaysia’s Women Weekly Great Women of Our Time award for her initiative WOMEN:girls, a program she created 2011 to match younger girls with accomplished women as inspiration and role models.[25][26] Then, she was named Most Successful Woman of 2014 by Jessica Malaysia magazine. From 2015 to 2017, Low was member of the board of the National Advisory Council on the Integration of Women in Development set up by the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development (Malaysia).

Filmography

Low has an extensive career in the film industry with many films in all genres to her credit. For example, her “WOMEN:girls” program launched a storytelling movement, “Ikal Mayang” in 2013 where short films are used to engage conversations within communities.[27] The goal of this movement is to empower women, increase the share of their voices, and tell their stories through filmmaking.[28][29] In conjunction with International Women's Day, Ikal Mayang created its own film festival that showcases female film directors from Asia.[30][31] The movement achieved an important milestone when it was officially selected for the 18th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) 2013. Under Low's leadership, Ikal Mayang contributed these short stories that premiered at BIFF 2013: Jerat Suami directed by Dira Abu Zahar, 1-800-BABY directed by Datin Sofia Jane Hisham,[32] Pantang directed by Vanidah Imran, Odah directed by Junaidah M. Nor, Berat Sebelah directed by Melissa Saila, and She directed by Ida Nerina.[33]

Year Title Genre Role
2003 Your World, My World Drama (Mandarin) Director and writer
2003 The Big Durian Documentary/Drama (English/Malay) Actress
2004 Visits: Hungry Ghost Anthology (segment "1413") Horror (Mandarin) Director/writer (segment)
2004 Wind Chimes Drama (English) Actress
2004 Ah Lok Kafe: The Movie Comedy (English) Actress
2006 Trio & a Bed Drama (English) Director
2008 5 Jingga Drama (Malay) Director
2008 High Times (Kasut Tumit Tinggi) Drama (Malay) Director
2010 Geng_Bas_Sekolah Drama (Malay) Director
2014 Cuak Comedy/Drama (English/Mandarin) Executive producer
2014 Chicken Drama/Family (Mandarin/Chinese) Executive producer
gollark: rm13ugfa? That's right for potatOS?
gollark: What's in each of them?
gollark: Okay, that is WEIRD.
gollark: Otherwise you can just check `startup` to see if it's right for potatOS.
gollark: If you mean an *OmniDisk*, and not an install disk, you can verify the signature.

References
  1. Kam, Patsy (2008-05-08). "A mother knows best". The Star. Retrieved 2014-10-27.
  2. "Embracing Women". The Star. 3 July 2015.
  3. "Initiative today aimed at bringing Malaysians together". The Star. 3 July 2015.
  4. Tam, Michelle (2013-04-18). "All for art and art for all". The Star. Retrieved 2014-10-27.
  5. Hooi, Lim Wing (2014-05-03). "Bringing the arts to the fore". The Star. Retrieved 2014-10-27.
  6. "Presenter Intervie - Malaysia's Kakiseni, A platform for the performing arts". The Japan Foundation – Performing Arts Network Japan. May 15, 2014.
  7. "Mothers Who Inspire: Low Ngai Yuen, President of Kakiseni". Article. Malaysia Tatler Society. 5 May 2014.
  8. "For Every Busy Life - Low Ngai Yuen". World News Network. 26 February 2016.
  9. "Make time for your kids=". The Star. 14 February 2005.
  10. "Low's riding high". The Star. 17 November 2006.
  11. "Entrepreneur of the Week: Low Ngai Yuen". Emmagem. 14 August 2013.
  12. "TV host makes the news". The Star. 25 March 2007.
  13. "馬來西亞數十萬名學生同步閱讀". Lihpao Daily. 21 October 2011. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
  14. "TV host makes the news". The Star. 25 March 2007.
  15. "Popular TV hosts from 3R appointed National Goodwill Ambassadors for UNICEF Malaysia". UNICEF. May 15, 2014.
  16. "3R is a Winner in the Asian Television Awards 2002". 3R (Respect, Relax, Respond). March 24, 2009.
  17. "Malaysian bags major film awards". The Star. 26 June 2003.
  18. "Director's Profile". Biography. RedFilms.
  19. "2003 OFFICIAL SELECTION". Reel Asian International Film Festival. 2003.
  20. "France's Carrefour abandons Malaysia". August 25, 2010.
  21. "Retailers go all out to make campaign a success". The Star. 11 January 2010.
  22. "RSOG Seminar "Preserving Malaysian Heritage through Creative Industry" with Mrs. Low Ngai Yuen". Seminar Summary. Razak School of Government. 27 January 2015.
  23. "1M Roundtable going live". The Star. 12 June 2011.
  24. "Being the Light". Star2. 5 March 2017.
  25. "Women:Girls - Empowering Women and Girls to Achieve Their Full Potential". Interview. BFM 89.9. 3 April 2013.
  26. "Disabled children to stamp their abilities with "Colours of My World"". UNICEF. 8 May 2013.
  27. "Tales by women and men at Ikal Mayang 2015 (Video)". The Sun (Malaysia). 6 March 2015.
  28. "Ikal Mayang: Top Stories and Behind The Scenes". Elle (Malaysia). 2014.
  29. "Know Your Power". Press Reader. 17 March 2017.
  30. "Breaking barriers to inspire others". Star2.com. March 17, 2017.
  31. "Ikal Mayang Festival 2014 Films". Press Reader. 6 March 2014.
  32. "Playing the good wife". The Sun (Malaysia). 15 October 2013.
  33. "Local film project premieres at Busan International Film Festival". The Star. 10 October 2013.
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