Ken Kwek's #LookAtMe to premiere at New York Asian Film Festival
Singaporean director Ken Kwek's second feature film, #LookAtMe, will make its world premiere at the New York Asian Film Festival on July 23.
The film is also one of the seven nominees for the festival's Uncaged Award for Best Feature Film Competition, which it said in its press release "shines a spotlight on feature film-makers whose singular cinematic visions should be internationally heralded, celebrating their passion, imagination and willingness to take risks".
The festival, which is in its 20th year, described #LookAtMe as "a brilliantly energetic romp about social media celebrity, cancel culture and the erosion of human rights".
It stars Tiong Bahru Social Club (2020) actor yao, formerly known as Thomas Pang. The Straits Times Life Theatre Award-winning actor takes on the dual roles of renegade vlogger Sean and his gay identical twin Ricky. The cast also includes Pam Oei and Ching Shu Yi.
The English, Mandarin and Malay film follows the brothers and their free-thinking single mother after they witness a popular televangelist demonising homosexuality.
Sean posts a video attacking the televangelist and goes viral. He lands in jail, with his mum and Ricky fighting an uphill battle for justice.
In an Instagram post last Saturday (July 9) announcing the world premiere, Kwek wrote: "Twins fascinate me. I've always wanted to create an interesting pair in a film - and here they are."
The director and playwright is known for his irreverent comedies and social satires. His first feature, Unlucky Plaza (2014), premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and won him Best Director at the Tehran Jasmine Film Festival.
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