Eric Khoo

Directing

Eric Khoo

Born

1965-03-27 (61)

Place of birth

Singapore

Known for

Directing

Credits

38 titles

Cultural Medallion recipient and award winning film maker Eric Khoo who helms Zhao Wei Films/ Gorylah Pictures 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 Berlin, Venice and Cannes. Khoo was awarded the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Letters, from the French Cultural Minister and his feature, My Magic was nominated for the Cannes Palme d'Or in 2008. Khoo was 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 Presi…

Known for

Monster Island poster
6.2

In the Pacific, 1944, a Japanese soldier and a British prisoner of war are stranded on a deserted island, hunted by a deadly creature. Two mortal enemies must come together to survive the unknown.

Monster Island

2025

In the Room poster
4.6

This sensitive and sensual film draws together several narratives spanning several decades, all of them transpiring in the same room of the same Singaporean hotel — and all of them involving sex.

In the Room

2015

Spirit World poster
5.9

Legendary singer Claire Emery flies to Japan for a final sold-out concert. But when the show ends, so does Claire’s life on earth. However, an unexpected new life in the spirit world - where she will be guided by Yuzo, one of her biggest fans - awaits.

Spirit World

2025

60 Seconds of Solitude in Year Zero poster
4.2

An anthology of one-minute films created by 51 international filmmakers on the theme of the death of cinema. Intended as an ode to 35mm, the film was screened one time only on a purpose-built 20x12 meter public cinema screen in the Port of Tallinn, Estonia, on 22 December 2011. A special projector was constructed for the event which allowed the actual filmstrip to be burnt at the same time as the film was shown.

60 Seconds of Solitude in Year Zero

2011

Ramen Shop poster
6.8

Masato is a young ramen chef in Japan. When he finds his late mother's journal after the sudden death of his emotionally distant father, he takes it with him to her native country, Singapore, hoping to piece together the story of his family and his life.

Ramen Shop

2018

15 poster
4.7

Five troubled teens, abandoned by society and family, form a bond in a world of violence, drugs, and self-destruction, facing harsh realities of modern Singapore.

15

2003

Film credits

2020s · 2 titles

2010s · 2 titles

Behind the camera

Monster Island poster
6.2

In the Pacific, 1944, a Japanese soldier and a British prisoner of war are stranded on a deserted island, hunted by a deadly creature. Two mortal enemies must come together to survive the unknown.

Monster Island

2025

In the Room poster
4.6

This sensitive and sensual film draws together several narratives spanning several decades, all of them transpiring in the same room of the same Singaporean hotel — and all of them involving sex.

In the Room

2015

Spirit World poster
5.9

Legendary singer Claire Emery flies to Japan for a final sold-out concert. But when the show ends, so does Claire’s life on earth. However, an unexpected new life in the spirit world - where she will be guided by Yuzo, one of her biggest fans - awaits.

Spirit World

2025

60 Seconds of Solitude in Year Zero poster
4.2

An anthology of one-minute films created by 51 international filmmakers on the theme of the death of cinema. Intended as an ode to 35mm, the film was screened one time only on a purpose-built 20x12 meter public cinema screen in the Port of Tallinn, Estonia, on 22 December 2011. A special projector was constructed for the event which allowed the actual filmstrip to be burnt at the same time as the film was shown.

60 Seconds of Solitude in Year Zero

2011

Ramen Shop poster
6.8

Masato is a young ramen chef in Japan. When he finds his late mother's journal after the sudden death of his emotionally distant father, he takes it with him to her native country, Singapore, hoping to piece together the story of his family and his life.

Ramen Shop

2018

15 poster
4.7

Five troubled teens, abandoned by society and family, form a bond in a world of violence, drugs, and self-destruction, facing harsh realities of modern Singapore.

15

2003

Mee Pok Man poster
5.3

A painfully shy noodle-shop owner and a prostitute have a chance encounter when destiny arrives in the form of a car accident.

Mee Pok Man

1996

Art Through Our Eyes poster
NR

As an omnibus of short films, Art Through Our Eyes is inspired by the art collection found at the National Gallery Singapore. Each of the five directors – Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Brillante Mendoza, Eric Khoo, Ho Yuhang and Joko Anwar – handpicked a masterpiece from the 19th and 20th century as inspiration for their short films.

Art Through Our Eyes

2016

Tatsumi poster
6.5

Animated film based on the life and stories of Manga writer Yoshihiro Tatsumi who revolutionised the art form with darker, more adult stories. The film animates several of his stories.

Tatsumi

2011

Tatsumi poster
6.5

Animated film based on the life and stories of Manga writer Yoshihiro Tatsumi who revolutionised the art form with darker, more adult stories. The film animates several of his stories.

Tatsumi

2011

Tatsumi poster
6.5

Animated film based on the life and stories of Manga writer Yoshihiro Tatsumi who revolutionised the art form with darker, more adult stories. The film animates several of his stories.

Tatsumi

2011

7 Letters poster
6.5

An emotive anthology by seven of Singapore's most illustrious filmmakers, celebrating SG50 through the lives and stories of Singaporeans. Directed by Eric Khoo, Jack Neo, K. Rajagopal, Royston Tan, Tan Pin Pin, Boo Junfeng, Kelvin Tong.

7 Letters

2015

7 Letters poster
6.5

An emotive anthology by seven of Singapore's most illustrious filmmakers, celebrating SG50 through the lives and stories of Singaporeans. Directed by Eric Khoo, Jack Neo, K. Rajagopal, Royston Tan, Tan Pin Pin, Boo Junfeng, Kelvin Tong.

7 Letters

2015

My Magic poster
5.0

A single dad looks to give up drinking and his bartender job in order to impress his son and find work as a magician.

My Magic

2008

My Magic poster
5.0

A single dad looks to give up drinking and his bartender job in order to impress his son and find work as a magician.

My Magic

2008

Digital Sam in Sam Saek 2006: Talk to Her poster
6.5

This program features three digital short films by Asian filmmakers. Singapore veteran filmmaker Eric Khoo's NO DAY OFF (39 min) records the life of a maid who leaves her husband and baby for Singapore. Darezhan Omirbayev's ABOUT LOVE (38 min) is a bitter love story based on Anton Chekhov's novel, in which a lonely math teacher falls in love with her married university classmate. Pen-ek Ratanaruang's TWELVE TWENTY (30 min) depicts the encounters of a man and a woman on a long haul flight, where they spend the next twelve hours and twenty minutes reading, drinking, eating and watching movies and sleeping by each other's side, as if they are a married couple.

Digital Sam in Sam Saek 2006: Talk to Her

2006

Digital Sam in Sam Saek 2006: Talk to Her poster
6.5

This program features three digital short films by Asian filmmakers. Singapore veteran filmmaker Eric Khoo's NO DAY OFF (39 min) records the life of a maid who leaves her husband and baby for Singapore. Darezhan Omirbayev's ABOUT LOVE (38 min) is a bitter love story based on Anton Chekhov's novel, in which a lonely math teacher falls in love with her married university classmate. Pen-ek Ratanaruang's TWELVE TWENTY (30 min) depicts the encounters of a man and a woman on a long haul flight, where they spend the next twelve hours and twenty minutes reading, drinking, eating and watching movies and sleeping by each other's side, as if they are a married couple.

Digital Sam in Sam Saek 2006: Talk to Her

2006

Ghost Child poster
4.8

Struggling to come to terms with the death of her mother, Kim suddenly has to deal with a new mother in her life. Choon, Kim's father, brings home a woman one day and announces his decision to marry her. A series of mysterious and terrifying incidents start to occur at the family home after their return. Could it be the jealous spirit of Choon's dead wife that has come back to show her displeasure at being replaced? Or is there something more sinister? What unravels is a tale of unspeakable evil that threatens to destroy the family. What deep, dark secret is Na, Choon's new wife, hiding from them? Can Kim help save her family from complete destruction?

Ghost Child

2013

Be with Me poster
6.1

Three tales of love wrap around the true story of a blind and deaf woman named Theresa Chan. In the first an elderly shopkeeper is devoted to his sick wife. In the second, two teenage girls become soul mates and lovers. In the third a chubby security guard tries to find the courage to woo a beautiful woman who works in his building.

Be with Me

2005

Be with Me poster
6.1

Three tales of love wrap around the true story of a blind and deaf woman named Theresa Chan. In the first an elderly shopkeeper is devoted to his sick wife. In the second, two teenage girls become soul mates and lovers. In the third a chubby security guard tries to find the courage to woo a beautiful woman who works in his building.

Be with Me

2005

Recipe poster
NR

Eric Khoo's tv-movie about the relationship between a young girl and her mother with dementia.

Recipe

2013

Wanton Mee poster
NR

Chun Feng Koh, a middle-aged food critic whose career is starting to wear him out, decides to explore his life and the development of Singapore through the local food.

Wanton Mee

2016

12 Storeys poster
5.2

The film depicts 24 hours in a HDB block of residential flats in Singapore. There are three main storylines. San San, fat, silent, and alone, hears the ghost of her mother constantly upbraid her. Ah Gu, a tofu soup vendor, is at odds with Lily, his materialistic immigrant wife, who longs for something he cannot provide. Meng spouts every moralistic bromide of the striving middle class, but is unhinged by his teenage sister May ("Trixie" to her boyfriend) who won't study, parties all night, and seems doomed by youth culture.

12 Storeys

1997

12 Storeys poster
5.2

The film depicts 24 hours in a HDB block of residential flats in Singapore. There are three main storylines. San San, fat, silent, and alone, hears the ghost of her mother constantly upbraid her. Ah Gu, a tofu soup vendor, is at odds with Lily, his materialistic immigrant wife, who longs for something he cannot provide. Meng spouts every moralistic bromide of the striving middle class, but is unhinged by his teenage sister May ("Trixie" to her boyfriend) who won't study, parties all night, and seems doomed by youth culture.

12 Storeys

1997

Piece of Meat poster
NR

Enslaved in a surreal world of living objects, a lamb cutlet does whatever it takes to make ends meet.

Piece of Meat

2019

No artwork available
NR

An American family touring Singapore shoots a series of home videos, before their camera is stolen by a Singaporean young man who shoots his own videos of his life.

Home Vdo

2000

No artwork available
NR

This short was filmed entirely on the Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G.

The Daughter

2021

No artwork available
NR

A strange film that comprises as much fiction as documentary and actually transcends the genre of the mockumentary, the fake documentary. Its maker Toh Hai Leong (in reality primarily a critic) more or less plays himself as a cult film maker looking for actors for a snuff film. He rattles off monologues about film and all kinds of things. He lives like a hermit in a grubby apartment with his elder brother. They criticise the material and sterile life of Singapore, but do not really make their scruffy alternative very attractive. You could suspect a skilled actor was behind the figure of Toh Hai Leong, but local connoisseurs point out that in reality, he is no different. A confusing supporting role - confusing because of its authenticity - played by Lim Poh Huat, the extra who also performs in the short film in this programme. (GjZ)

Zombie Dog

2004

No artwork available
NR

In conjunction with the 2nd anniversary of the Day Offcampaign, UNIFEM Film Series is proud to present No Day Off (2006) by Eric Khoo, a 45-minute short film chronicling four years in the life of Siti, a domestic worker in Singapore. Each year, thousands of women like Siti uproot themselves from their homes and families in impoverished villages in Java and Sumatra. They head for Singapore where they live the life of a foreign domestic worker, scrubbing, cooking and looking after children, the sick and the elderly. Their wages go towards making life more comfortable and less bleak for their own families back home.

No Day Off

2006

No artwork available
6.0

The film deals with a young man, following his “endeavors” in the city he lives in, which mostly comprise of him roaming the streets aimlessly. In the beginning, he seems peculiar but still normal, but as the story progresses, the portrait of a sadomasochistic man is revealed quite eloquently.

Pain

1994

No artwork available
6.0

The film deals with a young man, following his “endeavors” in the city he lives in, which mostly comprise of him roaming the streets aimlessly. In the beginning, he seems peculiar but still normal, but as the story progresses, the portrait of a sadomasochistic man is revealed quite eloquently.

Pain

1994

No artwork available
6.0

The film deals with a young man, following his “endeavors” in the city he lives in, which mostly comprise of him roaming the streets aimlessly. In the beginning, he seems peculiar but still normal, but as the story progresses, the portrait of a sadomasochistic man is revealed quite eloquently.

Pain

1994