Singapore - Film-maker Eric Khoo is one of this year‘s Cultural Medallion winner.
He received his award from President SR Nathan at the Istana on Friday.
41-year-old Khoo was also a former recipient of the Young Artist Award for Film ten years ago.
Another winner this year is 46-year-old prolific Malay literary writer Isa Kamari.
The Cultural Medallion award recognises individuals who have attained excellence in their respective artistic fields.
Cultural Medallion winners are also eligible for the Cultural Medallion Grant of S$80,000 to help them undertake an arts project.
The grant is given only once in the artist‘s lifetime and aims to raise the artist‘s profile.
As of 2006, 88 artists have received the Cultural Medallion award, which was first instituted in 1979.
Five young artists below the age of 35 have made the cut for the Young Artist Award.
They received their award from Information, Communications and the Arts Minister, Dr Lee Boon Yang.
33-year-old Kuik Swee Boon won the award for dance and Ting Kheng Siong, 35, was the winner for literature.
For music, the award went to 33-year-old Philip Tan, while Natalie Hennedige, 32, won it for theatre.
This year‘s youngest winner is 31-year-old Visual Artist Tan Sai Syng.
As of 2006, 86 artists have received the Young Artist Award since its first inception in 1992.
This year‘s winners excel in their own areas.
Eric Khoo‘s "Be With Me" was the opening film for the Directors‘ Fortnight at Cannes in 2005.
The work is a tapestry of stories, woven around the themes of love, hope and destiny. And it went on to win critical acclaim around the world.
But the director said the film holds a special place in his heart because it is a very personal movie. And his next project cuts even closer to home.
Khoo said: "I‘m now working on a film about a father and a son. It‘s pretty personal because it‘s myself as a father and how I‘ve been dealing with my kids and I‘m going to try to put that out, shoot it maybe end of this year."
It was not the first time his family has influenced Khoo‘s career. He attributed his love of movies to his mother.
He said: "At the age of 2 years old, she used to bring me to the cinema. Ever since (then), my whole diet of fantastic films - Bruce Lee and all that - was really because of my mother. Because she was such a fan of the cinema I just ultimately became that fan too."
Ting Kheng Siong‘s poem Gua Yan is about biting your tongue to prevent people from getting hurt. It is one of many poems he has published.
But he is also a prolific riddler - a stark contrast to his job as a Channel 8 reporter, which requires him to make the news easy to understand.
Ting said: "My passion is the writing of that language and the appreciation of that language, so to me it really doesn‘t have any conflicting issues because both things are dealing with language."
Ting‘s riddles range from traditional to contemporary issues like basketball teams and pop stars. Their meaning is lost in translation, but the clues are similar to those in cryptic crossword puzzles.
He said the riddles often come to him in a flash: "As you‘re reading the newspaper, or watching a movie or walking, suddenly the phrase just strikes you, you quickly write it down, then from there you can just do some modifications to make it more complete and smooth."
He enjoys sharing his love of the Chinese language and his work. He and his literary friends display their riddles during Chinese New Year and the Mid-Autumn Festival for the public to try out.
He said his Young Artist Award has inspired him to strive even harder.
Source: www.channelnewsasia.com (22 Oktober 2007)
