Eric Khoo | |
|---|---|
 Khoo receiving the Honorary Cyclo d'Or in 2019 | |
| Born | 27 March 1965 |
| Alma mater | United World College of South East Asia City Art Institute, Sydney |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1990–present |
| Spouse | Kim Eun Choo (m. 1997) |
| Children | 4 |
| Parents |
|
| Chinese name | |
| Chinese | 邱金海 |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Qiū Jīnhǎi |
Eric Khoo Kim Hai (born 27 March 1965) is a Singaporean film director and producer who is often credited for the revival of the Singapore modern film industry. [1]
Born on 27 March 1965 in Singapore, Eric Khoo was the youngest son of the 15 children of Tan Sri Khoo Teck Puat [2] from his second wife Rose Marie Wee. [3] His mother, who was a cinephile, introduced him to cinema when he was three years old. [3] He later received his education at the United World College of South East Asia. [4]
Khoo's interest in film eventually led him to study cinematography at the City Art Institute in Sydney, Australia. [3]
 | This sections includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations .(January 2019) |
Khoo's films Mee Pok Man and 12 Storeys have together been screened at over 60 film festivals, held all over the world including prestigious festivals such as Venice, Berlin and Rotterdam.
In 1998, Khoo was ranked as one of the 25 exceptional trend makers of Asia by Asiaweek magazine and in the following year was included into Asiaweek's leaders for the millennium issue. He was an executive producer for the local comedy hit, Liang Po Po – The Movie (1999), and One Leg Kicking (2001), which were both the highest grossing local movies for their respective years in Singapore. He also produced 15 (2003) directed by Royston Tan, which screened at the Venice Film Festival (2003) and Sundance (2004). His TV work includes being executive producer of DRIVE, an anthology series for the Television Corporation of Singapore (1998), and Seventh Month (2004), a highly acclaimed TV horror series for Channel U (SPH Mediaworks). These productions served as a platform for grooming young talented filmmakers.
Some of his notable achievements include being the first recipient of the National Arts Councils Young Artist Award for Film in 1997 and together with James Toh and Lucilla Teoh they wrote the White Paper which resulted in the formation of the Singapore Film Commission.
In 2004, Khoo directed his third feature Be With Me which was selected as the opening film for the Directors’ Fortnight Cannes 2005. The film has since won several awards overseas and has been invited to the Toronto International Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Pusan International Film Festival amongst others. It has also received international distribution including the US and Europe with glowing reviews in the French media when it opened in October 2005.
Khoo was a judge at the 10th Busan International Film Festival 2005 and Be With Me is the first Singaporean film to be nominated for the European Film Awards 2005. In 2006, Khoo executive produced Royston Tan’s second feature 4:30 and was invited to direct for the Jeonju Digital Film Festival in Korea – No Day Off the story of an Indonesian maid. He was the first Singapore director whose films were featured in a retrospective in Korea. The Seoul Independent Film Festival paid this tribute to him.
In 2007, Khoo was appointed as a board member of NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Asia. He produced Royston Tan's 881 a box office hit and received the highest arts honor the Cultural Medallion by the President of Singapore in the same year. In 2008, Khoo's film, My Magic was selected for Cannes official selection main competition. It is distributed in France by ARP and Wild bunch for international sales. My Magic picked up the best film award at Fribourg International Film Festival and was voted best film of 2008 by Le Monde .
In 2009, Khoo entered into a partnership with Infinite Frameworks to form a new company, Gorylah, specializing in the production of genre films. Gorylah's maiden effort, Darah, went on to win the Best Actress award at the 2009 Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival. Khoo executive produced Boo Junfeng's first feature film, Sandcastle . The film was selected for 2010 Critic's Week at Cannes. Centre Pompidou in Paris held an Eric Khoo retrospective in 2010 and he was featured in Phaidon Books, Take 100 - The Future of Film, 100 new directors. Khoo was president of the jury for the International Competition at the 63rd edition of the Locarno International Film Festival in 2010.
Tatsumi, based on the life and short stories of Yoshihiro Tatsumi, is Khoo's first animation feature which premiered at the 64th Cannes Film Festival in 2011 and world sales is handled by The Match Factory. Tatsumi won best animated feature at the Sitges Film Festival and the best film and best composer in the Muhr AsiaAfrica Awards at the 8th Dubai International Film Festival. It made its North American premiere at The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). In the same year his production 23:59 , an army paranormal film, was number one at the Singapore box office. In 2012, Khoo was Jury President at the Asian Film Awards and Rotterdam International Film Festival. He was the head of the Jury at Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival 2013.
Khoo has five critically acclaimed feature films that were at film festivals all over the world: Mee Pok Man (1995), 12 Storeys (1997), Be with Me (2005), My Magic (2008), and Tatsumi (2011). Mee Pok Man won prizes in Singapore, Fukuoka, and Pusan. It was also entered into the 19th Moscow International Film Festival. [5] 12 Storeys won him the Federation of International Film Critics (FIPRESCI) Award and the UOB Young Cinema Award at the 10th Singapore International Film Festival, and the Golden Maile Award for Best Picture at the 17th Hawaii International Film Festival. 12 Storeys was also the first Singapore film to be invited to take part in the Cannes Film Festival. Be With Me opened the Directors' Fortnight at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival, while My Magic was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival and was voted as one of the top five films of that year by Le Monde . Most recently, Tatsumi , based on manga artist Yoshihiro Tatsumi's memoir, premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.
In September 2014, Khoo announced that he will release a drama anthology, In the Room , in 2015. Exploring themes of love and sensuality, the film will star Hong Kong actress Josie Ho, up and coming Korean actor Choi Woo-shik, Japanese adult-film actress Shou Nishino, and actor Koh Boon Pin, who starred in Khoo's 12 Storeys. In the Room will also feature a homage to controversial cabaret dancer Rose Chan, the subject of a biopic that was first announced in 2009 but is still under development. [6] [7] In the Room premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2015 and travelled to the San Sebastián International Film Festival, Busan International Film Festival and Singapore International Film Festival. It was initially unable to be screened for commercial release in Singapore as Khoo refused to edit two scenes that exceeded the MDA's film classification guidelines. [8] Later, the subtly different 'international version' of the film was given a commercial release on February 25, 2016, after it was passed uncut with an R21 rating by the Media Development Authority. [9]
In December 2015, Mee Pok Man was restored by the Asian Film Archive for its 20th anniversary and screened at the Singapore International Film Festival. The high-resolution Digital Cinema Package version, restored from original 35mm prints, also enjoyed screenings at arthouse cinema The Projector in April and May 2016, with a panel discussion on the film's legacy. [10]
2015 also saw the release of Khoo's short film, Cinema, as part of the omnibus, 7 Letters , to commemorate Singapore's 50th year of independence. [11] In addition, Khoo released the telemovie Wanton Mee on okto in March, before it travelled to the Culinary Zinema section of the 63rd San Sebastian Film Festival in September and the 10th Culinary Cinema programme of the 2016 Berlinale in February, where chefs like Alexander Dressel took turns serving a menu inspired by the programme's films. Wanton Mee, a look at the transformation of Singapore's versatile street food scene, is also screening on Singapore Airlines' inflight entertainment programming. [12]
In 2016, Khoo collaborated with some of Southeast Asia's most renowned filmmakers as part of an omnibus project commissioned by National Gallery Singapore, Art Through Our Eyes. This project brought together – for the first time – filmmakers Joko Anwar (Indonesia), Ho Yuhang (Malaysia), Brilliante Mendoza (Philippines), Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Thailand), and Eric Khoo (Singapore).
In 2018, Khoo directed Ramen Teh , which stars Seiko Matsuda. The film premiered as the closing film of the Culinary Cinema section at the Berlin International Film Festival. [13] He also launched the Scream Asia Festival in Singapore. [14]
Khoo is married to Kim Eun Choo; they have four sons named Edward, James, Christopher, and Lucas. [3]
| Year | Title | Roles | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Barbie Digs Joe | Director, writer | Short |
| 1991 | Hope and Requiem | Director, writer | Short |
| August | Director, writer | Short | |
| 1992 | The Punk Rocker and... | Director | Short |
| 1993 | Symphony 92.4 FM | Director | Short |
| The Watchman | Director | Short | |
| 1994 | Pain | Director, producer | Short |
| 1995 | Mee Pok Man | Director | |
| 1997 | 12 Storeys | Director, writer | Nominated for the Un Certain Regard Award |
| 1999 | Liang Po Po: The Movie | Executive producer | |
| Stories About Love | Executive producer | ||
| 2000 | Moments of Magic VDO | Director | Singapore's millennium MTV |
| Home VDO | Director | Short | |
| 2001 | One Leg Kicking | Writer, executive producer | |
| 2003 | 15: The Movie | Producer | |
| 2005 | Be With Me | Director, writer | Singapore's official entry to the 78th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film |
| 2006 | Digital Sam in Sam Saek 2006: Talk to Her | Director | Segment: "No Day Off" |
| Zombie Dogs | Producer | ||
| 0430 | Producer | ||
| 2007 | 881 | Producer | Singapore's official entry to the 80th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film |
| 2008 | My Magic | Director, writer | Singapore's official entry to the 81st Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film |
| Invisible Children | Producer | ||
| 2009 | Darah | Producer | |
| 2010 | Sandcastle | Producer | |
| 2011 | Tatsumi | Director | Animated Film Singapore's official entry to the 84th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film |
| 60 Seconds of Solitude in Year Zero | Director | Segment | |
| 2012 | 23:59 | Producer | |
| 2013 | Ghost Child | Producer | |
| Recipe | Director | Telemovie | |
| 2015 | In the Room | Director | |
| 7 Letters | Director | Segment: "Cinema" Singapore's official entry to the 88th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film | |
| Wanton Mee | Director | Telemovie | |
| 2016 | Apprentice | Executive Producer | Singapore's official entry to the 89th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film |
| Art Through Our Eyes | Writer | Short: Segment Chua Mia Tee | |
| 2018 | Ramen Teh | Director | Won the Audience Choice Award at the Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Film Festival |
| Folklore (TV series) | Director | 1 episode | |
| Buffalo Boys | Executive Producer | ||
| 2019 | Food Lore | Director | |
| Piece of Meat | Writer, Co-Producer | Short | |
| 2022 | Food Affair with Mark Wiens | Creator, Executive Producer | TV Series |
| 2024 | Spirit World | Director | [15] [16] |
Despite having a flourishing Chinese and Malay film industry in the 1950s and 1960s, Singapore's film industry declined after independence in 1965. Film production increased in the 1990s, which saw the first locally produced feature-length films. There were a few films that featured Singaporean actors and were set in Singapore, including Saint Jack, They Call Her Cleopatra Wong and Crazy Rich Asians.
Be with Me is a 2005 Singaporean drama film directed by Eric Khoo. The film is inspired by the life of deafblind teacher Theresa Poh Lin Chan. It premiered as the Director's Fortnight selection in the 2005 Cannes Film Festival. It was also the official entry from Singapore for the 78th Academy Awards in the foreign language category. In December 2005, the academy body disqualified the film on grounds that the dialogue is mainly in English. Out of 93 minutes, the film only has two and a half minutes of dialogue.
Damien Sin, born Foong Yu Lei, was a Singaporean author, poet and musician. He has written several bestselling books published by the Angsana Books imprint of publisher Flame Of The Forest Publishing. Sin died in 2011.
Royston Tan is a Singaporean filmmaker and actor.
Mee pok is a Chinese noodle characterized by its flat and yellow appearance, varying in thickness and width. The dish is of Chaoshan origin and is commonly served in the Chaoshan region of China and countries with a significant Chaoshan Chinese immigrant population such as Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. Mee pok is commonly served tossed in a sauce, though sometimes served in a soup. Meat and vegetables are added on top.
Mee Pok Man is a 1995 Singaporean film directed by Eric Khoo. The film is Eric Khoo's debut feature, released under his film production company, Zhao Wei Films, after making award-winning short films for years. It was entered into the 19th Moscow International Film Festival and showed at more than 30 film festivals worldwide, winning the FIPRESCI Award.
Yasmin binti Ahmad was a Malaysian film director, writer and scriptwriter. She was the executive creative director at Leo Burnett Kuala Lumpur. Her television commercials and films are well known in Malaysia for being humorous and touching. Her work crossed cross-cultural barriers, particularly her ads for Petronas, the national oil and gas company. Her works have won multiple awards both within Malaysia and internationally. In Malaysia, her films were highly controversial due to their depiction of events and relationships, which have been considered 'forbidden' by social conservatives, especially hard-line interpretations of Islam. She was a central figure of the "first" New Wave of Malaysian cinema.
Southeast Asian cinema is the film industry and films produced in, or by natives of Southeast Asia. It includes any films produced in Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The majority of the films made in this region came from the Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia where its filmmaking industries in these countries are already well-established with film directors such as Lino Brocka, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, and Joko Anwar are well-known outside of the region. Notable production studios in Southeast Asia include Star Cinema, Viva Films, TBA Studios and Reality Entertainment in the Philippines, GDH 559 and Sahamongkol Film International in Thailand, Rapi Films in Indonesia, Astro Shaw in Malaysia, Encore Films in Singapore, and Studio 68 in Vietnam
Tan Pin Pin is a Singapore-based film director. She is best known for the documentary film Singapore GaGa (2005). It was the first Singaporean documentary to have a theatrical run. In 2014, her documentary To Singapore, With Love (2013) was denied for all ratings by the Media Development Authority, effectively banning it in Singapore.
Kelvin Tong Weng Kian is a Singaporean film director, screenwriter and producer. He was a former film critic for The Straits Times.
12 Storeys is a 1997 Singaporean drama film written and directed by Eric Khoo. It features an ensemble cast of Jack Neo, Koh Boon Pin and Quan Yi Fong. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival.
Screen Singapore was a film festival in Singapore held from 1 August 2005 to 31 August 2005, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the independence of Singapore, to celebrate the heritage of Singaporean cinema from pre-independence days to the present.
Tatsumi is a 2011 Japanese-language Singaporean animated drama film directed by Eric Khoo. It is based on the manga memoir A Drifting Life and five earlier short stories by the Japanese manga artist Yoshihiro Tatsumi. The film is a Singaporean production with Japanese dialogue, and was animated in Indonesia.
Boo Junfeng is a Singaporean filmmaker. Boo's films, Sandcastle (2010) and Apprentice (2016) have been screened at the Cannes Film Festival, beginning with his debut film, Sandcastle, which was an Critics' Week nominee.
In the Room is a 2015 Singaporean erotic drama film directed by Eric Khoo and written by Khoo and Jonathan Lim. The film stars Josie Ho, George Young, Daniel Jenkins, Koh Boon Pin, W Leon U, Show Nishino, Lawrence Wong, Nadia AR, and Ian Tan.
To Singapore, With Love is a 2013 Singaporean documentary film written and directed by Tan Pin Pin. The film featured interviews with nine Singaporean political dissidents, former activists, and student leaders who fled Singapore from the 1960s to 1980s, living in exile.
Jasmine Ng Kin Kia is a Singaporean film director. She is known for co-directing the feature film Eating Air, the documentary film Pink Paddlers and the short film Moveable Feast. She is also a part-time film lecturer at the National University of Singapore.
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