Ivan was one of the most passionate directors I had ever met. Having been highly recommended by two informants on separate occasions, his name came to my mind when my Executive Producer asked me if I knew any new directors for a potential project for MediaCorp's online platform. The project, Loving Art, was a government funded short-form drama series about the arts in Singapore. Even though Ivan mostly directed English-language dramas, he decided to join the team on his first Chinese-language production because the theme, arts in Singapore, was something he felt strongly about. As we got to know each other better through the pre-production process, I increasingly marvelled at his grand ambitions to model his work after global productions like Game of Thrones, his vision to ‘lead the audience’, and his genuine desire to change the media landscape in Singapore. This was not an easy feat for someone working in an industry plagued by inertia and perpetually low budgets.

Throughout the production process, Ivan repeatedly expressed his wish to challenge the status quo in Singapore through his work. However, that weighed heavily on his mind every time he asked me to join him for smoke breaks after clashing with colleagues. Different working styles and his entry into the team as a first-time director of Chinese-language productions caused frictions.