Jack Wong (nickname “Jack’s Stuff”) has finally achieved his dream as an international film director. Starting his career as a wedding cinematographer in 2010 in his hometown of Kota Kinabalu, Jack has always pursued his dream of becoming a film director. “I am super proud of where I come from and being a Sabahan makes me feel truly blessed. I’ve always wished to put Sabah on the global map while pursuing my dreams of making a name in the movie industry. Many successful Asians have made their mark internationally and I too hope to achieve that by presenting my work globally.”
In August 2012, Jack, together with a group of youths created a YouTube video named “Orang Sabah Style parody”. The video became an instant hit and garnered global attention. Due to its popularity, it was commended by the then Sabah Chief Minister as a positive avenue in promoting Sabah to the world. To date the YouTube video now has 9 millions views.
Due to the success of “Orang Sabah Style parody”, fans wondered whether Jack would continue the path of a content creator exclusively for his YouTube channel. ““Orang Sabah Style parody” has assisted in promoting Sabah and catapulted my name globally via YouTube. However, I still believe that I can contribute more in my pursuit of achieving my dream to be a renowned film director and where my work can be screened in major brand cinema chains locally and internationally”, Jack added.
With more than 7 years of cinematic industry experience under his belt, Jack is also a licensed film director with the Film Directors’ Association of Malaysia (FDAM). He received two awards for his work – “Most Impactful Awards” in the Young Film Director category in 2017, and “CSR Award 2019” (Contributing back to the community through sponsorship of video production). In the same year, Jack then produced his first movie, “C144 Human X Nature” together with Aaron Lim the producer and founder of Redboy Pictures Sdn Bhd.
Jack continues “Finally, after years of hard work my dream has become a reality. I sincerely hope that my fellow Malaysians will support the local movie industry as this production was not an easy feat. This marks the beginning of my film director journey in making Sabah proud of a homegrown talent making a name internationally, thus placing Sabah as a household name internationally”.
C144 Human X Nature tells the adventure of two camping enthusiasts who accidentally discover the wreckage of a “C-47B” aircraft in a jungle that was suspected to be used by the US military to deliver food to their comrades during World War II. After chancing upon the wreckage, they bring in a group of people and encounter mysterious events surrounding the wreckage and begin to witness the indeginious tribes’ superstitions come to life.
It is worth mentioning that the cast of this film consists of fresh Malaysian talents giving the film a breath of fresh air. Although they have never appeared in any cinematic production, some of them have vast experience in stage and drama performances. When asked about why new talents were preferred, Jack replied “I always love to explore new talents. Many Malaysians are very talented but are often unrecognised by the public. The talents that are featured in this film are no stranger to stage and drama performances. Tapping into new Malaysian talents should be the priority of Malaysian filmmakers as there are many undiscovered talents here on our soil. Because of these selected fresh talents, our film has received 4 international awards!”
“C144 Human X Nature” received 4 international awards – “Best Writer Award” in Alternative Film Festival 2020 (Canada), “Best Feature Film” in Eastern Europe Film Festival 2020, “Best Film in Nature/Environment & Wildlife” in World Film Carnival 2021 (Singapore), and “Best Cinematography” in Cinematic European Film Festival 2021.
“C144 Human X Nature” will be screened on 17th February 2022, in 27 cinemas in Malaysia, including 3 cinemas in Sabah – GSC 1Borneo and Cityplex Citymall in Kota Kinabalu, and Eastern Cineplex Eastern Plaza in Tawau. Impressively, the movie is also slated to make its name as the first Malaysian movie that will be screened at Laemmie NoHo 7 Theatre at Lankershim Boulevard in Hollywood on 1st April 2022 and set to be introduced in 12 different countries including Japan, South Korea, China, Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia and several European countries.
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