KwanTeo Film Archive · Creator
Chong Keat Aun
张吉安Chong Keat Aun is a Malaysian filmmaker, broadcaster and community arts practitioner. His work recording songs, oral histories and regional speech informs films including The Story of Southern Islet and Snow in Midsummer.
About the Creator
Born in Kedah, Chong has family roots in Kaiping on his father’s side and Jieyang on his mother’s. Teochew speech and opera were part of his childhood with his mother and grandmother. His practice developed across broadcasting, theatre, cultural research, community arts and cinema.
Between 2005 and 2020, he pursued a project recording regional speech, folk songs and memories of migration across Malaysia. Collection, recording, archiving and exhibition were its guiding methods. A radio programme extended this work, with elderly listeners inviting him into their homes to record.
At KwanTeo CineLab in 2026, Chong recalled recording a ninety-year-old Teochew woman who sang from a songbook and died two weeks later. He brought the recording to Shantou, sharing her voice with listeners in her ancestral region.
His debut feature, The Story of Southern Islet, earned him Best New Director at the 57th Golden Horse Awards. Snow in Midsummer examines the memory of Malaysia’s May 13 violence and won the Firebird Award for Best Film at the 48th Hong Kong International Film Festival. Pavane for an Infant was Malaysia’s submission for the 98th Academy Awards; Mother Bhumi premiered in competition at the 38th Tokyo International Film Festival. At KwanTeo CineLab 2026, he led the storytelling workshop and took part in a filmmaker salon and a discussion of Snow in Midsummer.