Fast Forward With Joanne Goh

Joanne hopes to share her deep passion for life and career through this novel-like autobiography. She hopes to inspire a whole new generation of hardworking young people to seize the opportunities that come their way and create wonderful and meaningful lives ahead.

For entertainment guru and founder of Malaysia International Film Festival, Joanne Goh Poi Leng grew up attracted to the glitz and glamour of the entertainment world, just like any ordinary young girl. Although she had no connections to help forge her path, she held on to this dream with a fierce passion. Then, as she grew up, she put all her focus and strength into making her first success, and first pot of gold, through her premium gifts business. However, this did not quench her thirst. She went on to delve into the entertainment industry, holding and organizing concerts for international artists from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South Korea, both in and outside of Malaysia. With that, Jazzy Group was born and became one of the leaders in the Malaysian entertainment industry. To date in 2020, the company has successfully organized over a hundred concerts, collecting over USD 100 million in revenue.

In 2016, Joanne met with Wen Tien-Hsiang, the CEO of the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival Executive Committee, and was deeply affected by his words. Following that conversation, Joanne gave herself the responsibility of bringing the Malaysian film industry to the next level. In 2017, she successfully organized the first edition of Malaysia International Film Fest (MIFFest) and Malaysia Golden Global Awards (MGGA). This helped put the Malaysian film industry on the map and raised the awareness of local audiences to quality films from around the world.

Since then, she has gone on to organize two more editions of MIFFest and MGGA and has even worked together with other filmmakers to produce and distribute great films in the country. All this was possible because Joanne had always understood that there was more value to films than mere entertainment. Towards the end of 2017, she established Jazzy Pictures, which has since taken part in distributing four Hong Kong films, including John Woo’s Manhunt; and co-produced three local and international films, including One Two Jaga, Fly by Night, and Nina Wu. These three films have garnered local and international recognition and awards, and Nina Wu even received its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. All these achievements show that Jazzy Pictures has successfully made waves in the international film scene.