Diana Kan Lee's Lounge Discussions

Hi everyone :) I'm Diana, an actress, writer-director and producer based in Singapore.

I moved back here after a 8-ish year stint in the UK, where I predominantly worked in the tech startup industry in a variety of roles - first hire, engineer, tech lead and CTO, alongside a semi-pro career in pole dance & independent art. Prior to a career in tech, I had also tried to break into acting & film in the UK and the US, and did a lot of intensive training in acting both in LA and the UK, but destiny had other plans. I thought a software engineer's salary would give me the income & security needed to sustain myself as I continued to pursue my art in the UK, however found myself yearning to for Asia, and left a year and a half into the most flexible visa a working immigrant could possibly get in the UK.

After the last two or three years of soul-searching and in January, deciding to leave my full-time role at a tech startup I co-founded, I now find myself faced with what seems like an insurmountable task - analysing and understanding the rise & success of various commercially-successful, viable film industries around the world, wondering why there is no equivalent in my home country, Singapore, and then realising that I have to create the community I want to see here. Sure, there are a lot of amazing independent filmmakers, really solid crew, and a pretty vibrant theatre scene, yet, for a country that is an international trade hub and not that much smaller than Hong Kong, it is very strange that we don't really have a similar, thriving, internationally-recognised commercial cinema industry - at least not how I've experienced in the UK & US.

In December, I was (divinely?) inspired to write a 30-min narrative film script in about 2 days, and subsequently proceeded to lead and execute the film, which we shot in the end of February. Although I had considered & attempted to cast other actresses to play the lead, I ended up being the best match for the role, and so I ended up starring in, on top of writing, producing and directing the film. We are a team of 6, including 2 actors, the DP, and script supervisor. In the process, I also felt divinely guided to create an independent company to provide structure & support to the work. The whole journey has been lonely & arduous at times, but looking back now, I am sure it will be worth it.

In the background, I have a few longer-form content ideas in development, which I've been working on since 2020, and which I hope to iterate towards in the next few years.

Right now, I am focusing on working with my editor to complete the film, and simultaneously figuring out what exactly should the business model of my production company be - whether there is a viable "tech" aspect to the company, whether I should try to bootstrap it (and thus go back to another 9-5 job, or try to go part-time in a flexible company, or freelance, on top of building some passive income streams) or turn it into a startup and aim for external investment/institutional funding... and most importantly, how does all of this fit into my personal dream & wish to be an international movie actress aligned with meaningful characters which inspire deep soul healing on a global scale, and are therefore authentic & revolutionary to me. Perhaps I'll find some clarity soon, we'll see!

If you made it this far through my post, thank you for reading and resonating :) I'm excited to see what this community has to offer and to be a part of it in my own way :)