The Malaysian filmmaker and cancer survivor is making waves on the international stage, proudly showcasing his talents with his acclaimed films, ‘Influencer’ and ‘Horologist.’
Jared Lee, a fellow dreamer from my high school days in Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia, and I often shared grand visions, fuelled by the boundless possibilities that seemed to lie beyond our small town.
Defying his mother’s wishes to succeed in the family business, Jared’s decision to fund his own education, rather than following his mother’s path, showcased his self-reliance and commitment to personal growth. Ultimately, he stuck to his guns and chartered his own path in storytelling, which then led him to filmmaking. He did this without attending a film school nor holding a degree in filmmaking.
His film ‘Influencer’ has been selected for several film festivals, including the Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia 2022, the Portland Film Festival, and the Vancouver Asia Film Festival. ‘Horologist’ was selected for the Cannes Short Film Corner during the Cannes Film Festival in 2023, and eventually won ‘Best Animation’ award at San Diego Comic-Con 2023.
Jared’s journey from small-town dreamer to global influencer is a testament to the power of unwavering belief in one’s dreams. His grit and determination, honed through years of hard work and resilience, serve as an inspiration to all who dare to chase their passions.
Tell us how did you get a headstart in filmmaking? Was that something you’ve always wanted to do when you were a kid?
Volunteer to help out on projects, intern at both established production companies and/or indie projects. Watch A LOT of films. Go to a film festival. Watch film breakdowns. Find a community to ‘talk film’ with.
As a kid I’ve always wanted to be a ‘mangaka‘ (Japanese comic artist) and make anime. I only found out later that my love lies in storytelling, no matter the medium it was told in.
Did you study a filmmaking course or did you learn the ropes yourself?
I didn’t go to film school, most of which I learned from observing, watching videos, reading books and mostly… doing. When I started uploading short films/skits on YouTube in 2011, no matter how ‘simple’ the type of video was, there’s always something to learn from the process and it grew from there. But it was only in 2015, I decided to phase out the simpler YouTube format to chase filmmaking seriously. There were many who questioned my decision to let the channel ‘die’ and while the world was trying to enter the content creation sphere (which I admit work was easier) I was leaving to feed the soul.
I realise having conditioned your mind to do a certain thing (in this case weekly YouTube comedy videos) made me unable to craft films I’ve always wanted to craft or write scripts at a level I want. So I knew it was only possible if I switch my focus towards the filmmaking craft.
What was that journey like and why did you decide to start a production film?
In the beginning it was hard to convince my family of what I was after (to be fair I wasn’t sure myself). All I knew was that I wanted to be in the creative industry telling stories. Given the hardship my single mother has been through growing up, I know it was going to be very tough to convince her to let me study what I wanted rather than taking over her hair business which she spent her whole life growing.
That conflict grew into an argument and we weren’t on speaking terms for several months. I think I got my stubbornness from her. I was staying at a friend’s house, borrowed money for food from my brother and I borrowed money from my aunt and cousin to apply for a diploma course in Mass Communication, and through a simple video assignment, it clicked.
When our first short film on YouTube garnered views in 2011, along with it came opportunities to work on various projects. I saw an opportunity to start something and jumped without much thought (which I wished I didn’t, and did more research prior to avoid learning from mistakes).
When did you realise you could start monetising some of your content?
In 2012, there were offers to join MCNs (multi-channel networks) who offered assistance in monetising, audio library and paid gigs. And requests from brands to work on similar content on the channel so they get the views we were getting. But it was 2013 when things started to pick up in terms of paid work.
Along the way, you picked up a couple of awards for some of your short films. Talk us through it?
As someone who has never been to film school, the existence of film festivals and the awards that came with them was non-existent to me. I only found out about the importance of these submissions later on. I wished I had attended a film festival way earlier than I did (my first one in 2023). And I remember feeling like it would’ve made a huge difference if I attended one earlier.
We started out winning the ‘Best Pilot’ award for ‘The Last 7’ at several web festivals in 2017, and it was an important creation in my journey. It was also the piece in which the industry acknowledged a YouTuber’s ability to be in the filmmaking sphere. I was told several times that YouTubers / Influencers can’t make films.
Ever since I stopped YouTubing, I would carve out some savings every year to produce at least one short film. This was probably my film school training.
In 2019, we made ‘Pekak & Bisu‘ (Deaf and Mute) which was selected at a few festivals and came in second at MM2’s short film competition.
In 2020, we made ‘Influencer’ which was selected at Tokyo’s Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia which is probably the first known film festival we got into.
In 2021, we made ‘Horologist‘ which opened the doors we needed to open (hopefully).
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While building your company up, unfortunately, you were also struck with cancer. How did you maintain your mental health and strength to overcome this?
In 2018 I was diagnosed with testicular cancer. And I remember clearly we were in the midst of a commercial project and also an email from Netflix came in asking to meet after they watched ‘The Last 7’ (I had read the email right before entering the oncologist’s room to find out about cancer). The mixed feelings really juxtaposed. I’m thankful for the team at Grim Film at the time as they managed to hold down the fort while I was gone. Also to the clients then who empathised with my condition and still stuck around.
The surgery and knowing I can’t have kids of my own hit both Marianne and I really hard, but what was worse personally was the side effects of chemotherapy. The drug affects every individual differently and for me it took away my ‘powers’. The constant ideas and images in my head stopped appearing. I lost my appetite and nausea was constant. So was hunger. This was probably the lowest point in my life (so far).
I forced myself to listen to film podcasts, and watched as many film tutorials as I can everyday during the recovery hoping and praying the magic comes back. I was basically a zombie on a repeat pattern. I am very thankful for my supportive family and patient wife who saw through the whole process with me.
Horologist, your ‘Covid project’, became one of your best and successful works as you were the first Malaysian to win Best Animation at San Diego Comic-Con 2023 and chosen for the Cannes’ Short Film Corner. Was it tough to scale this project?
When I first received the email from the Cannes Film Festival, I was told it might be a scam. I was unsure as well but I proceeded by replying to the email with a question to see if it was legit and thankfully the responder was kind enough to reply to me. We sent this film out to as many relevant festivals as we could, and this is probably the first time I lost count of the number of festivals we were selected for. There were at least 5 Oscar qualifying festivals and we even won ‘Best Animation’ at a BAFTA qualifying film festival.
The other tough part about making films is that you can’t show it anywhere during your festival run which usually takes up to two years. And I made another mistake of sending it out without a festival strategy which I learnt at Cannes Short Film Corner. We said yes to some smaller festivals earlier on which made the bigger festivals who wanted the film not show it. It’s a very expensive lesson.
Thanks to the phase of being a known as a ‘YouTuber’ I learned to not bask in the spotlight. These awards are keys to doors I couldn’t open before, and I wasted no time since 2023 to set up as many meetings as I could. The Eisner Award nomination proved to help with setting up conversations with bigger publishers in US.
To scale the several projects I have now, I first thought it was a 100-meter race but turns out it’s a marathon. I’m constantly meeting people in hopes to make my debut feature soon.
Oftentimes, your wife is also your muse as she acts in some of your film projects. How do you draw strength from her?
Marianne is a very talented and smart artist. As an actor, I feel she’s not been given enough good roles to showcase her abilities. As an illustrator, the only person to doubt her abilities is herself, she’s currently working on more artworks which I hope the right people sees them.
She knows what I’m after and she’s been very understanding with the time I have to spend elsewhere chasing this ‘impossible dream’.
Her attitude towards her craft makes me work harder towards my own. Having her around keeps me checked in. And align the priorities I have in life.
So what’s next for you down the road?
I am bringing around three to five anime and live action feature films and series ideas. I am constantly looking for creative partners, investors and producers who believe in what I want to make. Hopefully they get made while I’m still in my 40s (I turn 40 this year).
Also looking to publish my manga with a known publisher in US / Japan. There is an anthology titled ‘Grimoire’ which stories centres around human greed and another which will be a series (the first chapter should be done by the end of 2025).
As for Grim Film, we’re partnering with Origin Studio, a 3D animation studio led by Kennedy Tang and a Social Media & talent arm (which name will be revealed later on) led by Joseph Germani under an alliance called ‘Origami Creatives’. I have junior directors on board who will direct some of the commercial projects so I have more time to be an artist.
Catch up on Grim Film’s short films on YouTube now.
