Eric Khoo’s 1995 debut feature film Mee Pok Man was critically acclaimed and is still widely considered to be one of the most important Singaporean films ever. In 1997, together with James Toh and Lucilla Teoh, he wrote a White Paper that resulted in the formation of the Singapore Film Commission. He was also one of the first Singaporean filmmakers to have works screened at the film festivals of Toronto, Busan, Berlin, Telluride, Venice and Cannes.

For these and many other achievements, Khoo is a singular figure in Singaporean cinema, and is often credited with both its revival and its rise to the world stage in the 1990s and throughout the 2000s. He has been awarded prestigious accolades including the Cultural Medallion and the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Letters, and has since continued to direct and produce feature films.

Apart from Mee Pok Man, Khoo is also the director of 1997’s 12 Storeys (the first Singapore film to be invited to the Cannes Film Festival), 2005’s Be With Me, 2008’s My Magic, 2011’s Tatsumi (Khoo’s first animation feature), 2015’s 7 Letters and In the Room, and 2017’s Ramen Teh. He has also produced at least 15 films, including the award-winning 15 and Apprentice, and has been involved in making short films and television shows as well. Today, he helms Zhao Wei Films.