Eric Khoo

Eric Khoo Kim Hai is a pioneering Singaporean filmmaker whose career has been instrumental in reviving the nation’s modern cinema. Born on 27 March 1965 in Singapore as the youngest of fifteen children of Tan Sri Khoo Teck Puat and Rose Marie Wee, he was introduced to the magic of film at the age of three by his cinephile mother, a love that later guided his educational path through the United World College of South East Asia and the City Art Institute in Sydney where he studied cinematography. Khoo’s early feature Mee Pok Man (1995) and the gritty drama 12 Storeys (1997) broke new ground, screening at more than 60 international festivals including Venice, Berlin and Rotterdam, and earning him recognition as one of Asia‑week’s 25 exceptional trend‑setters in 1998. Throughout the 2000s he continued to push boundaries with Be With Me (2005), which opened the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes, and My Magic (2008), which was nominated for the Palme d’Or and hailed by Le Monde as one of the year’s best films. His animated feature Tatsumi (2011) brought a celebrated manga biography to the Cannes Un Certain Regard section, winning awards at Sitges and Dubai. In addition to directing, Khoo has nurtured Singapore’s film ecosystem as an executive producer of local hits such as Liang Po Po – The Movie (1999) and One Leg Kicking (2001), and by co‑authoring the White Paper that led to the formation of the Singapore Film Commission. He has served on juries at Busan, Locarno and the Asian Film Awards, and held a board position at NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Asia. His later works, including the anthology In the Room (2015) and the culinary‑themed Ramen Teh (2018), showcase his versatility and commitment to exploring diverse narratives. Married to Kim Eun Choo since 1997, the couple raise four sons, and Khoo’s contributions have been recognised with honors such as the Cultural Medallion, the National Arts Council Young Artist Award, and the Chevalier de l’ordre des arts et des lettres.