Born in Taiping, Perak, Bernard Chauly is a prominent figure in the local film industry. The filmmaker is known for his highly acclaimed works, such as Gol & Gincu (2005), Goodbye Boys (2006), and the award-winning Istanbul Aku Datang (2012). The last aforementioned film won best picture in the comedy category and has been nominated for the Grand Prix at the Osaka Asian Film Festival in 2013.

The film and television major graduated from Universiti Sains Malaysia, and took up a minor in sociology and anthropology too for good measure. This interest in human sociology would serve as one of Chauly’s trademarks in film, as most of his work was character-driven.

His first foray in filmmaking began with Saying Goodbye, a six-minute video based on his parents. It won Best Experimental Video at the Malaysian Video Awards 1998. He went on to do his masters in writing and directing at Goldsmiths, University of London on a Chevening scholarship. There, he did a 20-minute short film called Adam & Steve. This film made him realise his passion for directing because of the collaborative aspect of it.

In September 2020, Chauly ventured away from film and found himself a certified chef. Graduating from the Ashburton Cookery School in the United Kingdom, the director teased in a New Straits Times interview that between him and a friend, a food business seemed to be cooking up in the horizon.