Jow Zhi Wei

Jow Zhi Wei (姚志衞) is a Singaporean film director born in 1983. In 2010, he graduated with first class honours from The Puttnam School of Film at LASALLE College of the Arts. He is also an 2010 alumnus of the Golden Horse Film Academy in Taiwan, where he was mentored by Taiwanese film director Hou Hsiao-hsien. In 2011, he was accepted into Le Fresnoy, National Studio for Contemporary Arts in France.

His short films have screened and competed at prominent film festivals in Southeast Asia and internationally. As a filmmaker, Zhi Wei demonstrates an uncanny sensibility that helps him tell compelling stories of the lesser known segments of the community, with great artfulness and intimacy. His short films illustrate a clear artistic vision informed by personal experiences, which contributes to his unique aesthetic.

Zhi Wei also possesses a dedication to his art-making process that goes beyond the artistic; such as building relationships with his film subjects, that lends his work added impact and significance. His films have been selected for screenings locally at film festivals such as the Singapore Short Cuts at the National Museum of Singapore Cinémathèque (2009, 2010 and 2013) and regionally at the Cinemanila International Film Festival (2009) in the Philippines, the Thai Short Film and Video Festival (2010 and 2013) as well as at the Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival (2010 and 2013) in Indonesia.

Internationally, his first short film Outing (2009) was selected to compete at the 58th San Sebastian International Film Festival (2010) in Spain, while Waiting (2010), was screened at the 15th Busan International Film Festival (2010) in South Korea. After The Winter (2013) was selected for competition at the prestigious Cinéfondation Selection at the 66th Cannes Film Festival (2013) in France, making him the first Singaporean filmmaker to compete in that category.

It went on to be selected for other festivals including the 37th Montreal World Film Festival (2013) in Canada and the 41st Huesca International Film Festival (2013) in Spain. Zhi Wei has also earned numerous local film accolades including Best Script and Jury Special Mention for Best Director and Best Performance for the short film Waiting at the 2nd Singapore Short Film Awards (2011).