Desiree Lim facts for kids

Desiree Lim (born 1971) is a Malaysian-born Canadian independent film director, producer, and screenwriter. She is known for her films Sugar Sweet (2001), Floored by Love (2005), and The House (2011). Lim tends to work within the realm of family drama and comedy, and highlights themes of multiculturalism, and body positivity. She now works in Canada and Japan.

Early life and education

Born in Malaysia in 1971, Lim grew up speaking Cantonese and Mandarin. Her parents are Chinese and had moved to her birthplace from mainland China and Hong Kong. In school, she became a skilled kendo practitioner. Upon graduating from high school, she moved to Tokyo to study at Sophia University, where she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism. After finishing university, she began working on news and documentary films with the broadcasting company Asahi Broadcasting Network in Tokyo as an associate producer and director. She did not move back to Malaysia after her education, due to the lack of freedom of the press there.

Career

Lim made her first independent short film, Closet is for Clothes, in Tokyo, where it was shown at the 1995 Tokyo Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. This festival provided Lim with the opportunity to jump-start her career, as she received an award for her film. This was the beginning of her career as an independent filmmaker. Six years later she created her first feature-length film, Sugar Sweet. Following the release of this film, she moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, having been frustrated by the production company's marketing of Sugar Sweet and inspired by the positive reaction it received in North America, particularly by Vancouver's artistic community. Her films have been highly successful at film festivals, where showings have frequently sold out. Her latest film, a psychological thriller set in Vancouver and featuring Vancouver actors, called The House (2011), received the Best Canadian Feature Film award at the 2012 Female Eye Film Festival.

Inspiration

From birth, Lim's identity as a transmigrant Asian woman influenced the way she saw the world. Though she was born and had lived in Malaysia, then later Japan, she seldom saw Asian faces represented in media during her childhood, declaring that all the faces on her TV screen were those of white people. This drove her to create her own representation of people like herself. Lim's goal with her works is to create more positive and diverse representations of Asian women. Her inspiration is not derived from a role model, but rather the lack thereof in her life. The aim of her work is to challenge taboo topics and to empower her audience; in this regard, she considers her films to be forms of activism.

Personal life

Lim is fluent in English, Japanese, Mandarin, Cantonese and Malay.

Filmography

Film

• 1995: Closet is for Clothes
• 1999: Disposable ...
• 1999: ...: Just Be It
• 2003: Salty Wet – director (Short film)
• 2005: Out For Bubble Tea – director, producer, writer (Short film)
• 2005: Some Real Fangs – director, producer, writer (Short film)
• 2011: The House – director, producer, writer

Television

• 2001: Natural Mystery: Health & Hypnosis – associate producer (TV documentary)
• 2001: Sugar Sweet – director, writer (TV movie)
• 2005: Floored By Love – director, producer, writer (TV movie)