Jack Woon

Jack’s other food/travel show, Granny Knows Best, has racked up over 28 million views in China, but Sik Fan Lah! is something special: a rare opportunity for audiences to see positive and eclectic Chinese-Kiwi stories onscreen. Making “a show for my people, by my people” was a moving experience for Jack, who came to Aotearoa from Malaysia with his family when he was five. “When I grew up, I thought being a New Zealander meant you’re either Pākehā or Māori ... I didn’t think I was completely a New Zealander until now,” he said when Sik Fan Lah! first screened.

He has also edited four comedy features by writer/director Stallone Vaiaoga-Ioasa (M2S1 Films): Three Wise Cousins, Hibiscus & Ruthless, Take Home Pay, and Mama’s Music Box. “I feel incredibly proud to play a role in bringing a community together through storytelling,” Jack says. “After directing a show like Sik Fan Lah! or editing a film like Three Wise Cousins, I hear stories of how it sparked up conversations, or unearthed memories, or influenced audiences. I feel like I am doing important work for society and work that makes people happy.”

Jack is grateful his curiosity and skills were nurtured at the University of Auckland, particularly by screen lecturer Margaret Henley – who won a national award for sustained excellence in tertiary teaching the year after Jack completed a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) majoring in Screen Production in 2009. He also appreciated sharing excellent facilities “with my unbelievably talented peers”. 
Stallone was one of those peers, and Jack now calls him “the most influential person in my life”. “I owe my success largely to following his example,” Jack says. As Stallone’s go-to editor and frequent camera assistant, Jack appreciates his role model’s “humble style of leadership, bravery, humour, selflessness, respect for all people and family-first approach.”

Jack is most proud of his scripted short films, especially those that have screened at major international film festivals: Empty Swan Song, Rising Dust and The Great Barrier. The way he tells it – with humour and modesty – his success as a TV documentary maker and film editor has happened while he’s been looking the other way.  “I expected to make a short film, win festival awards, then be whisked away to Hollywood to direct the next Matrix film,” he says. “Instead, many of my short films were rejected by major film festivals, and I felt like a talentless hack – nearly giving up and changing careers several times.” Film editing was the back-up. But “it turns out that editing has very effectively honed my storytelling skills, and now I am back on the path to becoming a director”.

Jack describes himself both as satisfied and striving – a great combination for further success. “The completion of every film or TV show is a huge milestone for me. Watching a project with cast and crew always makes me feel like I’m on top of the world,” he says. “But within a day or two, I realise that there’s so much further to go. I cannot say that I’ve ever ‘achieved success’, nor do I want to. I want to complete my professional transition into writer/director in scripted content, but my main goal is to sustainably stay in this industry and keep telling stories.”