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OKJ (Real Name: Ong Kah Jing) is a Singapore-based Documentary Storyteller. His earnestness to do justice to the stories told have seen him journey across the world – from covering Singapore’s athletes at the 2019 Philippine SEA Games to celebrating youths who were part of a 2018 global innovation programme in Oslo, Norway.
Tell us about yourself.
I am a documentary storyteller who strives to do justice told. Earnest in effort, I want to reciprocate the trust of the people I work with. Having started making documentary works since 2015 that create empathetic connections to universal human values, I am grateful that some of my works had been recognised with awards and notable mentions.
As a Creative, you draw your inspiration from many sources. Who and what inspires you and if it is a place, where do you go to stimulate your creative juices?
I am most inspired by conversations because everyone has stories to tell, but fewer than all get to tell them. This educates me to listen, imagine and work.
Being invited into “homes” is a privilege that I hold dear. I view it as an intimate manifestation of trust, and such experiences have undoubtedly shaped my storytelling to my audience, on behalf of my documentary subjects.
If you can describe your creative style and approach in a few adjectives, what would it be?
I would say that they are “Sincere and Understanding”, “Intriguing and Enjoyable”, “Intimate and Unpretentious”.
Where do you see yourself and your craft in the coming years?
I seek to exercise my creativity through the adaptation of Documentary Storytelling with respects to the constant evolution of media platforms and deliveries.
I believe that the desire to engage with stories is universal, fundamental, and unchanging. But the ‘How’ and ‘Where’ of this craft will change with time, trends and technology. I see opportunities and promise in this context.
I would also hope that in due time, I will be able to document a story about the human endeavours at the frontiers of space itself – a chapter of history which I feel will surely become mainstream in my life time.