Han

Singapore National Youth Film Awards, 2016

Best Picture, Best Director, Best Production Design

Sindie

"The film shines when the camera sits and observes, allowing Choo’s performance to breathe. The veteran delivers an embattled performance, biting and gritting; the drop of his eyes conveying an ocean of attrition."

Sindie

"...wonderfully even-handed exploration of sorrow, punishment and absolution."

Choo's journey with filmmaking started when he enrolled in Ngee Ann Poly's School of Film & Media Studies. He went on to pursue an undergrad degree in Digital Filmmaking at NTU before heading to the UK to get his masters in Directing Fiction at the prestigious National Film & Television School.

Director Jonathan Choo is the oldest son of Mediacorp veteran actor, Zhu Houren, who stars in "Han" as Hoh Yim.

The concept of ‘Han’ referenced in the film’s title is a uniquely South Korean notion. It is the Korean pronunciation of the Chinese word 恨, which means hate; To the Koreans, it refers to a lingering sense of un-avenged wrongdoing or unresolved trauma that may psychosomatically trigger physical sensations of nausea or discomfort. Its origins are possibly historical, theorized by some scholars to have emerged as a hangover from South Korea’s experience under Japanese occupation. This film from writer-director Jonathan Choo grapples exactly with the weighty theme of justice and penance.