No Day Off

Eric Khoo, born in 1965, is a film director from Singapore. He was introduced to the world of cinema at a very early age. He attended City Art Institute in Sydney, Australia where he pursued cinematography.

Eric Khoo put Singapore on the international film map with his first feature film “Mee Pok Man” (1995), picking up prizes at Fukuoka, Pusan and Singapore. His second feature “12 Storeys” (1997) won the Federation of International Film Critics (FIPRESCI) Award and the UOB Young Cinema Award at the 10th Singapore International Festival, and the Golden Maile Award for Best Picture at the 17th Hawaii International Film Festival. More importantly “12 Storeys” was the first Singaporean film to be invited officially to participate in the 50th Cannes Film Festival (1997).

Mee Pok Man and 12 Storeys have together been screened at over 60 film festivals, held all over the world including Ivy League festivals such as Venice, Berlin and Rotterdam.

In 1998, Eric 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 millenium 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 has been invited to 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. Eric was conferred the Singapore Youth Awards (Individual) in 1999 for his dedication to film-making and contributions to society.

In 2004 Eric 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.

Eric was a judge at the 10th Pusan International Film Festival 2005 and Be With Me is the first Singaporean film to be nominated for the European Film Awards 2005. In 2006 Eric 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 awarded the 2006 Singapore Youth Awards Medal Of Commendation and 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.

Since 2007, Eric has been 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, Eric was awarded the (chevalier de l’ordre des arts et des letters) from the French Minister of Culture. His latest feature film, My Magic is selected for Cannes official selection main competition. It will be distributed in France by ARP and Wild bunch for international sales.

In 2009, Eric entered into a partnership with Infinite Frameworks to form a new company, Gorylah, specializing in the production of genre films. Gorylah’s maiden effort, Macabre, went on to win the Best Actress award at the 2009 Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival. Eric is also an Executive Producer on Boo Jun Feng’s first feature film, Sandcastle. The film has been selected for 2010 Critic’s Week at Cannes. Eric will be President of the Jury for the International Competition at the 63rd edition of the Locarno International Film Festival. —erickhoo.com