Malaysian creatives shine on the Emmy stage

LOS ANGELES: 2026 has been a breakthrough year for Malaysian creatives making their mark on the global stage.

In March, Pahang-born composer Joy Ngiaw became the first Malaysian to win an Emmy Award. Since then, two more Malaysians have earned recognition for their work behind the camera.

Last month, Kuching-born Cheyenne Tan won an Emmy for the five-part documentary series “Turning Point: The Vietnam War”, while producer Syuen Chia was recognised for her work on the PBS music series “The Montana Sessions”.

FMT Lifestyle spoke with Tan and Chia about their journeys and what it means to represent Malaysia on an international platform.

Cheyenne Tan

Several years ago, Cheyenne Tan found herself standing beside acclaimed South Korean director Bong Joon-ho. She had attended the 2020 Academy Awards for “St Louis Superman”, a documentary short she helped produce that had earned an Oscar nomination.

As limousines lined up outside the venue, she struck up a conversation with the “Parasite” director, congratulating him and his cast in what she laughingly describes as “broken Korean”.

For Tan, it was one of those moments that still feels difficult to comprehend. “I get to see these people and we are peers in the industry. That’s always very surreal.

“I don’t think my brain has fully wrapped its head around that, especially considering I was a little Kuching girl making my way out here not knowing what the heck I was doing,” she said.

Six years later, Tan would bring home an Emmy as part of the production team behind Netflix’s “Turning Point: The Vietnam War”, which won for outstanding research in the news and documentary category.

But awards were never what drew her to filmmaking in the first place. Growing up in a family that prized curiosity and independent thinking, Tan spent much of her youth reading, debating, and immersing herself in stories.

“My parents were huge advocates of reading and really pushed us to read a lot,” the 31-year-old told FMT Lifestyle. “I can thank them now for how I see and navigate the world and find myself in it.”

Like many teens of her generation, she immersed himself in the worlds of “Harry Potter”, “Twilight” and “The Hunger Games”. This fascination eventually led her to film school in Los Angeles, where she discovered documentary filmmaking.

As a teenager, Tan had been outspoken about social issues and channelled much of her energy into debating. Documentary filmmaking, she realised, offered a way to combine advocacy with storytelling.

“It was the marriage of the two things that I really, really cared about,” she said. That conviction has guided her through projects ranging from criminal justice and politics to war and identity.

For “Turning Point”, one of her first tasks involved combing through countless hours of archival footage.

“It was really hard,” she admitted. “Vietnam is very close to us. They looked like our people, wearing clothes that looked like ours. This man looks like he could be my uncle.”

The work earned industry recognition, but Tan admits she is still adjusting to the idea of being an Emmy winner.

And her path to this point, she shared, has not always been easy. Her first year in the US was marked by intense homesickness and self-doubt.

Surrounded by classmates who seemed more experienced, she often questioned whether she belonged. “There were times when I was ready to pack it up and go home.”

What kept her going was a simple realisation: “I love spending my life making art that matters a lot more than I do anything else in the world,” she said.

Today, the search for her creative voice continues as Tan pushes herself in a new direction as a director.

Her upcoming documentary, “Becoming My Mother”, follows a Korean adoptee reconnecting with her birth family while confronting her own complicated relationship with adoption.

Syuen Chia

Just days later, at the Northwest Regional Emmy Awards in Seattle, Washington, 26-year-old Syuen Chia won for her role as producer on “The Montana Sessions”.

The awards, part of the Emmy programme administered by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, recognise outstanding television productions in the US Pacific Northwest.

Chia told FMT Lifestyle that her journey into the arts began with an early love of music. She started playing the piano at age four and spent her childhood creating homemade music videos in her room.

Notably, “The Montana Sessions” is a music series that pairs performances by local artistes with Montana’s dramatic landscapes, blending live music with cinematic storytelling.

Now based in Los Angeles, Chia studied film, television production and screenwriting at Loyola Marymount University, graduating in 2019. Shortly afterwards, she landed freelance projects with 4:08 Productions, where she has since risen to become a senior producer.

The awards night came with an unexpected twist, as “11th & Grant with Eric Funk” was initially declared the winner in the Entertainment category.

“After their speech, when they announced there was another winner, I just blanked out,” she recalled. “Honestly, it still feels surreal.”

Back home in the Klang Valley, her family watched the moment unfold in disbelief. “My family sent a video and you could hear everyone rushing back to the TV and cheering in the background!”

Chia had prepared a few talking points and made sure to mention her Malaysian roots during her acceptance speech.

“I’ve been based in LA since 2021, but I definitely miss home,” she said. “Malaysia is still a huge part of my identity and I carry it with pride.”

As for upcoming projects, Chia said she is working on another documentary in LA, while developing a feature-length screenplay set in Malaysia and inspired by everyday local life and culture.

Learn more about Cheyenne Tan and Syuen Chia.