Award winning film maker and Cultural Medallion recipient Eric Khoo who helms Zhao Wei Films has been credited for reviving the Singapore film industry and for putting Singapore onto the International film map in 1995. He was the first Singaporean to have his films invited to major film festivals such as Toronto, Busan, Berlin, Telluride, Venice and Cannes. Together with 12 Storeys’ co-writer James Toh and actress Lucilla Teoh, he also wrote a White Paper which resulted in the formation of the Singapore Film Commission. Khoo was awarded the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Letters, from the French Cultural Minister in 2008. Besides his filmmaking achievements, Khoo has produced several award winning films including 15 (2003) and Apprentice (2016).
Be With Me opened the Directors Fortnight in Cannes 2005 and My Magic his fourth feature was nominated for the Cannes Palme d’Or in 2008. Khoo has been profiled in Phaidon Books, Take 100 the future of Film – 100 New directors. The Pompidou Centre in Paris held an Eric Khoo film retrospective and he served as President of the Jury at The Locarno International Film Festival in 2010. The following year, he released his first animated feature, Tatsumi, which was invited to the 64th Cannes Film Festival and made it’s North American premiere at The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). In 2012 Khoo headed the juries at Asian Film Awards, Rotterdam International Film Festival and in 2013 the Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival. He was invited to be on the official Cannes, short film competition jury in 2017. In 2018, Eric was the show runner for Folklore a HBO Originals series Asia.
Here are his 8 favorite Singaporean features and 3 favorite shorts, in random order
1. 15 (Royston Tan, 2003)
Tan casts real-life accounts of Chinese delinquents Shaun (Shaun Tan), Vynn (Vynn Chen), Erick (Erick Chun) and Melvin (Melvin Lee). They stick out a mile in comparison to the rest of the cast, to draw out the obvious differences between them and the rest of the Singaporean community. Condemned by society for the way they look and speak, Tan’s film culminates in the destruction of pure optimism that youths experience due to the circumstances of living in cynical Singapore. (Jovina Chong)
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2. 23:59 (Gilbert Chan, 2011)
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3. Eating Air (Kelvin Tong, Jasmine Ng Kin Kia, 1999)
4. Shirkers (Sandi Tan, 2018)
Sandi Tan directs a documentary that functions in two levels, one as a self-portrait and one as a mystery story regarding the disappearance and the rediscovery of the film. The great thing about “Shirkers” and Tan’s direction is that both aspects work extremely well, and even more, that their combination results into a rather captivating spectacle. (Panos Kotzathanasis)
5. The Maid ( Kelvin Tong, 2005)
In his first go at horror, Tong uses the theme of the Seventh Month to tell his story effectively; setting it in Singapore might seem too localized for outsiders, but overall it still works out since horror really has no boundary geographically. In general, the movie looks good; the shop house where Rosa shares with her employers who run a Chinese opera is moody, eerie and full of dark shadows. In total contrast, the Chinese opera scenes are brightly lit and full of vibrant primary colors, thanks to the work of cinematographer Lucas Jodogne and Daniel Lim’s art direction. Conversely, the overall experience is of a much relaxed tone, since both the protagonists and the ghosts move at such a slow pace. Unfortunately, most of the jump scares are of the quick cuts and accompanied by a typical outburst of loud sound variety. (David Chew)
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6. A Yellow Bird (K. Rajagopal, 2016)
7. Apprentice (Boo Junfeng, 2016)
Boo Junfeng directs a film which moves in a number of axes. Probably the most obvious one is the critique of the Singaporean judicial system, particularly regarding the death penalty, through the consequences on the people on death row, their families, and the correctional officers who perform the deed. In that fashion, Junfeng presents the procedure with documentary-like precision, in a style that is somewhat detached but very thorough. (Panos Kotzathanasis)
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8. Pop Aye (Kirsten Tan, 2017)
Kirsten Tan directs a very beautiful movie about a man trying to figure his place in the current world and to find a sense of purpose by getting reacquainted with his past, in a road trip movie that also functions as a tour guide to the beauties of rural Bangkok. In this trip of self examination, Kirsten throws some very entertaining episodes, that include a hoodlum, two police officers, a trans man and a prostitute, the aforementioned uncle, a vibrator, some watermelons, and of course, the elephant, whose presence dominates the movie, both visually and in terms of context. Regarding the last aspect, I felt that Tan gives the role of “the elephant in the room” to the animal, with it symbolizing the fact that Thana does not want to face the truth, and subsequently reality, with the whole concept crumbling down on him during the last part of the film. (Panos Kotzathanasis)
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Shorts:
1. Super Dong (Pok Yue Weng, 2007)
2. The Drum (Ler Jiyuan, 2016)
3. My Blue Heaven (Chai Yee Wei, 2008)
