Season 3 Episode 16 – Experimental Filmmaker Shu Lee
Malaysian-born Shu Qin Lee was raised in Australia and initially encountered photography when his uncle in Singapore gifted him his first manual film camera in the 1990s.
This love for photography led Shu to capture simple moving images like a crystal ball rotating on a mini water fountain when the first Nokia phones were available. Here the seed of experimental filmmaking was planted.
Many years later, after studying languages, religion, and philosophy and attaining a Master’s of Teaching degree, Shu started teaching humanities. Through the recommendation of a friend, he also took up background acting for films and commercials. It was on a movie set after an impressive mock performance as an extra that he met another extra who promised that they would make a film together and submit it to film festivals. That plan never materialized. In the face of this major ideological disappointment, Shu became determined to make his own films.
As a passionate musician, he started making video recordings of his compositions to store his own music. Then he ventured into writing and producing mini skits where he would play all the parts. These short videos would include the people and environment within his regular social life. It was at a Kino screening that Shu watched his first experimental film. A film so obscure purely because it was unlike all the other shorts that had been screened.
During his time as a relieving librarian, Shu rummaged through two books on film, paying particular attention to the chapter on “Experimental Films.” With a fully inspired heart, he would self-produce seventy-plus experimental shorts that include elements of music, comedy, home theatrics, vlogging, travel, documentary, visual arts, nature, children, horror, sport, dance, and multiculturalism. His mainstream approach includes “spin-blending,” “juxtapositioning,” and the recurrent themes of nature and children at play. Most of his works are available for public viewing but are difficult to find. Interested parties will receive a Youtube link upon emailing sh******@gm***.com.
