Oversteer
A teenager gives up everything and leaves home, and tries to succeed as a car mechanic/racer against all odds.
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Derrick LuiDirectorColours, When Night Fa11s, Rose, 1400
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Derrick LuiWriter
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Derrick LuiProducer
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Aden TanKey Cast"Wind"
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Yaodong ZhangKey Cast"Father"The Celebrity Agency Artiste
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Tianlong YuKey Cast"Ah Long"
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Jannassa NeoKey Cast"Cloud"
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Hanrey LowKey Cast"Ah Fu"
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Project Type:Feature
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Genres:drama, action, romance, comingofage, comedy
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Runtime:1 hour 36 minutes
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Completion Date:July 11, 2023
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Country of Origin:Singapore
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Country of Filming:Malaysia
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Language:Chinese
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Shooting Format:RED
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Aspect Ratio:16:9
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:No
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Hokkaido International Film FestivalHokkaido
Japan
August 30, 2024
International Premiere
Official Selection
Starting his career at Medicorp’s TVC arm, Derrick moved on to MTV Asia, directing various on-air promos, and artist image spots. Wanting to try different drama and documentary genres, he left to freelance as a director/writer.
Derrick’s 2nd film, Colours, screened at more than 40 festivals worldwide and won awards in Australia and Asia. His poetic short, When Night Fa11s, secured a Special Mention at the I’ve Seen Films International Film Festival, the only Asian film that was awarded in Milan.
In 2015, Derrick completed his independent feature film, 1400. Starring Mediacorp artistes Desmond Tan and Yahui, 1400 had its World Premiere at the prestigious Festival des Films du Monde, and won Best Feature Film in Sydney’s flEXiff 2015 and Maverick Movie Awards in Los Angeles! It was also sold to Netflix for South East Asia distribution.
In 2016, Derrick was invited to join the Jury of Reel Sydney Festival of World Cinema.
In 2021, Derrick was selected to join Korea’s NAFF Fantastic Film School in Bucheon, Korea.
In 2022, Derrick was awarded the SBA award in Bucheon Fantastic Film Festival.
In 2023, and 2024 Derrick was invited to be President of the Short Film Jury Life Beyond Life Film Festival in Torino, Italy.
He has just released Singapore’s first car racing feature film, Oversteer.
Collectively, his films have screened at numerous festivals including London, Tokyo, Sydney, Sao Paulo, Iran, New York, Busan, Shanghai, Los Angeles and Milan.
“Real racers on real roads”. I set out to pit Japanese cars with Supercars like the Audi R8, Lotus Exige S, and Porsche 997. Races range from Mex Highway, to Bukit Tinggi Hill, to the highly exciting KL city. As i wanted the car races to be as authentic as possible, no CG was used. This made filming challenging and dangerous.
Based on a true story, Oversteer is a coming of age story of a young man, Feng, who falls out with his dad, and together with his childhood friend, set out to survive as mechanics and inadvertently join the car racing world. Little does Feng know, that blood is thicker than water, and no matter what he does wrong, FAMILY is key, and his dad supports him until the very end.
The film ends with a touching scene of reconciliation. I was at the workshop when I saw my friend’s dad coming in and asking him, “Son, will you service my car?” I was overwhelmed when i saw this happening and decided I must tell this message through film!
“In the real world, nobody will trust you with modifying their cars, until you built a car and prove it’s reliable in races.”
Two and a half years in the making, the project has collapsed twice, with movie companies and producers dropping out due to reasons beyond my control. Very much like the character in the movie, I have soldiered on, raised funds on my own and made the movie with much perseverance and passion.
The inspiration for this movie came from my experiences in various races, and car modifications from a young age.
“ I have loved cars for as long as i can remember, when i was in my 20s, i even imported a half cut from Japan to modify into my Nissan S13! That era was a time where i was spending all my time in workshops and race events.”
“ Am very happy that despite all the ongoing political tension between Singapore and Malaysia, regardless of race, language or religion, we have come together and produced a movie that we are all proud of ”.