Master of all trades: writer, director, producer, and now triad chaser, Lee Thean-jeen tells David Lee the path that has led him to becoming Singapore's first Documentary Director's Chair.(profile)

A proposal for a documentary tracing the mysterious and colourful roots of Chinese triads promises endless hours of intrigue, and was the creme de la creme of the submissions that earned Singapore-based Lee Thean-jeen the honour of being named to the country's inaugural Documentary Director's Chair, an initiative by Discovery Networks Asia and Singapore's Media Development Authority to offer a commercial outlet to promising directorial talent from the region.

Born and raised in Penang, Malaysia, 35-year old Lee was a film connoisseur in-the-making from young. "I remember ...