Alvin Lee 李昌荣 — Filmmaker Alvin Lee 李昌荣 — Filmmaker

filmmaker based in Singapore and Beijing

Films

narrative & documentary shorts
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Smoke Gets in Your Eyes　烟熏到了眼睛

A funeral director finds himself hapless when the wrong body has been sent for cremation. With no other way out, he devises a plan for a sham funeral with the deceased’s three estranged children.

19:11 / Narrative Short / Mandarin, Chinese Dialect, English / Singapore, 2022

  • Premiered — 27th Busan International Film Festival
  • Jury Prize, Short Film Competition — 47th Hong Kong International Film Festival
  • Best Singapore Short Film — 33rd Singapore International Film Festival
  • Best Short Film — China Golden Rooster & Hundred Flowers
  • 15+ awards across over 55 festivals

A Time for Us　萍水相逢

A pregnant woman from the countryside travels to Beijing to buy a hukou for her unborn child on the black market, and is arranged into a sham marriage with a man who cannot speak.

31:57 / Narrative Short / Mandarin / China, 2018

  • Jury Special Award — 22nd CineMAiubit Student Film Festival
  • Best Screenplay — National Youth Film Awards 2019
  • In Competition — 29th Singapore International Film Festival
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Seed　种子

A husband and wife make an emotional journey to meet a boy holding the last memory of their child.

16:25 / Narrative Short / Mandarin / China, 2016

  • Best Director — 2016 China Short Film Golden Hummingbird Award
  • Best Actress, Asia International Competition (Pan Ruo Yao) — 2017 Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia, Tokyo
  • Selected — 2nd Asia New Media Festival
  • Selected — China Vision Youth Awards 2017
  • Selected — 5th Singapore Chinese Film Festival 2017
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Tiger Head Shoes　虎头鞋

19:36 / Documentary Short / Mandarin / China, 2017

Zhu Yong Hua has spent her whole life making tiger head shoes, until the shoes became a part of her life too.

  • Nominated, Best Documentary — National Youth Film Awards 2018
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Bon Voyage　回家说再见

16:25 / Narrative Short / Mandarin, Chinese Dialect / China, 2016

A heartwarming and poignant tale that explores kinship and family ties between a grandson and his grandmother.

  • Best Director — 6th Singapore Short Film Awards
  • Best Sound — 6th Singapore Short Film Awards
  • Best Foreign Film — 1st China Wutai Mountain Short Film Festival
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From a Distance

03:00 / Narrative Short / Mandarin / Singapore, 2021

A grandson’s love is still as powerful even if he’s miles away.

  • Overall 2nd Prize — Samsung Short and Sharp Mobile Film Festival
  • Best Direction — Samsung Short and Sharp Mobile Film Festival
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Causeway

01:00 / Narrative Short / Mandarin / Singapore, 2021

A man and his family settle for a get-together across the waters.

  • In Competition — 13th Seoul Yeongdeungpo International Extreme-Short Image & Film Festival
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Timeline

03:39 / Narrative Short / Tamil / Singapore, 2012

First day of freedom after ten years, an ex-convict returns home to discover the memoirs of his mother.

  • Grand Prix — 14th Very Short International Film Festival
  • Selected — 7th Sapporo International Short Film Festival and Market
  • Selected — 2012 Festival des Très Courts

Branded works

campaigns, commercials & music videos

The same eye for people, on a client brief. Campaign films for government agencies and brands — written and directed end to end.

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MDDI

Dancing King

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MDDI

Mr Routine

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MADE FOR FAMILIES SG

We are #MoreThanEnough for Each Other

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MADE FOR FAMILIES SG

For Trying my Best, I am #MoreThanEnough

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MADE FOR FAMILIES SG

For Pursuing our Passions Together, We Are #MoreThanEnough

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MCCY

As One United People — Stronger Together

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ECDA SINGAPORE

Magic happens when we work together

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MDDI

Rising Above Together — Zulayqha’s Story

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APPLE SINGAPORE & M1 SINGAPORE

MrRight91

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MINDEF SINGAPORE

Defence Science & Technology Manifesto Video

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MCDONALD’S SINGAPORE

Moments with Family are Moments of Prosperity (Lohei)

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MCDONALD’S SINGAPORE

Moments with Family are Moments of Prosperity (Zodiac Fashion)

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MDDI

The Best in Us

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BEYOND THE LABEL SINGAPORE

The Clock

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MDDI

From Grace to Grit

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GREAT EASTERN SG

Ah Gong and Alex

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MAJULAH SINGAPURA

The 60th Anniversary Music Video

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STAR SEARCH 2019 WEMOVIES

《回转椅子》Episode 1

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STAR SEARCH 2019 WEMOVIES

《回转椅子》Episode 2

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STAR SEARCH 2019 WEMOVIES

《回转椅子》Episode 3

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MINISTRY OF EDUCATION SINGAPORE

The Speech

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CINE65 COMMISSIONED SHORT

Pink IC

Alvin Lee　李昌荣

A Singaporean filmmaker, and a graduate of the Beijing Film Academy's BFA in Film Directing. His short films have won top awards at festivals across Asia and Europe, and he is a scholar under the Singapore IMDA Media Education Scheme (Film). The work runs across narrative shorts, documentary, commercials, and music videos.

His latest short, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, premiered at the 27th Busan International Film Festival and went on to screen at over 55 festivals — Clermont-Ferrand, Hong Kong, Pingyao — winning more than fifteen awards.

In 2025 he was conferred the Young Artist Award by Singapore's National Arts Council, the nation's highest accolade for young artists.

He is now developing his feature debut, Talk to Me When You Are Dead, produced by Anthony Chen and Gina Tan of Giraffe Pictures, selected for the 2026 Asian Project Market in Busan.

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Press & recognition

Alvin Lee 李昌荣
PRESS Alvin Lee wants to educate the next generation about the value of art and culture 2026 a+ Singapore — a long-form profile. Five recipients, from film-maker to lighting designer 2025 The Straits Times — Young Artist Award 2025. Busan’s Asian Project Market unveils 2026 selections 2026 Variety — Talk to Me When You Are Dead among the selected projects. Singapore director Alvin Lee wins at China's Golden Rooster Awards 2022 The Straits Times — one of ten winners for best short film, and the only film-maker from overseas. Seven arts practitioners honoured with the Cultural Medallion and Young Artist Award 2025 Bak Chor Mee Boy — on foregrounding the everyday lives of Singaporeans through Chinese-language cinema. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes — Mint Chinese Film Festival 2023 “Director Lee's masterful framing and use of colour convey the story's essence without excess exposition.” Smoke Gets In Your Eyes 烟熏到了眼睛 2022 Foundation for the Arts and Social Enterprise — supporter's note on the film.
RECOGNITION Young Artist Award — National Arts Council, Singapore 2025 Singapore's highest accolade for arts practitioners aged 35 and below, conferred at the Istana. Talents Tokyo 2024 One of seventeen emerging filmmakers and producers selected across Asia, developing a debut feature. Asian Film Archive — collection entry — Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, A Time for Us, Bon Voyage and Seed held in the archive catalogue. Busan International Film Festival — director profile 2022 World premiere of Smoke Gets In Your Eyes at the 27th edition. DokuFest — Smoke Gets In Your Eyes 烟熏到了眼睛 2023 Kosovo — official selection. First Singapore Polytechnic graduate admitted to the Beijing Film Academy — Singapore Polytechnic
Bon Voyage — Best Director & Best Sound, 6th Singapore Short Film Awards 2014 Singapore Short Film Awards
中文报道　CHINESE-LANGUAGE PRESS 【2025青年艺术家奖】电影导演李昌荣 2025.11.27 联合早报 34岁的新锐导演李昌荣对获颁青年艺术家奖感到非常高兴，将2万元创作奖金投资于自己的长片 2025 联合早报 我们的电影 续写新篇：李昌荣、曹峻铭 2025 vibes by 8world　《风华60：最美的风景》 本地导演李昌荣凭《烟熏到了眼睛》金鸡…… 2022.11.12 联合早报 中国金鸡奖 本地年轻导演李昌荣报捷——由黄渤当评审，逾千部参赛短片中角逐 2022 新明日报 本地短片《烟》釜山全球首映　导演忆故友 2022.10.10 联合早报 《烟熏到了眼睛》又再下一城，入围法国克莱蒙费朗国际短片影展 2022.12 联合早报 参演《烟》入围国际奖　王伟良：燃起对拍戏的火焰 2022.09.22 中国报　Johor 陈子谦携三导演拍四抗疫短片 2020.06.16 联合早报

For interview requests, screeners, or press materials, please .

What I take on

Singapore, Beijing, and travelling
01

Direction

Narrative shorts and features in development — script to final grade, including casting and performance work in Mandarin, English, and dialect.

02

Branded film

Campaign films and commercials for agencies and brands. Concept, treatment, and a crew scaled to the budget.

03

Documentary

Observational portraits of makers, families, and trades — shot over long stretches, with small crews and patient access.

04

Music video

Performance and narrative videos for labels and independent artists in Singapore and China.

Photos

@shotbyalvinleecr

when i'm not making film, i'm walking around with my small camera.

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@shotbyalvinleecr
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Screeners, scripts, and briefs — all welcome.

BASED Singapore / Beijing