Close looks back at his film‑making career and lead characters, and charts his nexT spine-tingling chapter Encounters Words Hong Xinyi Photography eric seow Fashion Direction Desmond Lim Hair Mesh Subra, using L’Oréal Professionnel Make-Up June goh/indigo artisans, using Make Up For Ever

or those who came of age in the 1990s, the popular imagination of those years pulsed with a sort of vivid ennui. Even as the era’s blockbusters dazzled with new digital wizardry, independent cinema was entering a new golden age. Its auteurs—the likes of Quentin Tarantino, Richard Linklater and Wong Kar Wai—became the arbiters of cool, and their distinctive visual languages shaped the emotional palette of a whole generation. In , where a once-thriving film industry dominated by Shaw Brothers and Cathay-Keris had withered by the late 1970s, everyone had gotten used to not having movies of our own. And then, suddenly, there was Eric Khoo. This year marks the 20th anniversary of his sophomore feature film,, which featured interwoven stories about the residents of a single HDB block. From a distance of decades, it can be difficult to convey how strange and compelling it was in 1997 to see Singapore reflected FOODIE CONFIDENTIAL back to us in a film that had no interest in glossy surfaces or nation‑building Director Eric Khoo slurps platitudes. Quite the opposite, in fact—the flats, coffee shops and mee pok at the location his first playgrounds in its universe were tinged with grit, grime and no small measure movie, , was shot. of gloom, painting a different portrait of Singapore’s journey from third The food lover’s next film will world to first. It was a moody meditation, in a minor key. feature ramen “I think what Singaporeans enjoyed was seeing a part of Singapore that Clé de Cartier Skeleton Automatic was not shown on Channel 8 and Channel 5,” Eric muses. “It was real life, it watch in palladium by Cartier was people talking in a mix of languages and dialects. It was not sanitised.”

1 hong kong tatler . month year 12 Storeys became the first Singapore film to be invited to the lady luck Lum May Yee got in the section, and was her first break in Eric’s sophomore also screened in many other international outing, 12 Storeys film festivals. That it followed on the heels doesn’t miss her career in front of the camera, she does value Cashmere turtleneck and cotton of Eric’s debut feature film, the well-received what those years taught her. “What it gave me was a sense of cord skirt, both by Max Mara; Mee Pok Man, in 1995, added another current self-confidence. And I’m still very proud to have been part of Panthère de Cartier brooch and of excitement. That first movie (about the his movies, for sure.” Indeed, Mee Pok Man and 12 Storeys made ring in white gold with emeralds, titular character’s obsession with working stars out of their leading ladies—Michelle’s kittenish charm onyx and diamonds, and High girl Bunny, played by Michelle Goh) had not and May Yee’s gamine cool added a different kind of enigmatic Jewellery bracelet in white gold with lacquer and diamonds, been a fluke. Maybe it really was possible glamour to Singapore’s celebrity landscape in the 1990s, and all by Cartier for Singapore to their indie aura still lingers. have its own film The sight of these erstwhile industry again. It girls greeting each other Time flies. In July “what it gave me fondly at this shoot would this year, independent warm the heart of any ’90s kid. cinema The Projector was a sense of Isn’t it great that Bunny and held a special self‑confidence. Trixie turned out ok? screening of 12 Storeys, Like May Yee, Michelle hailing it as a classic of And I’m still has left acting behind, except Singaporean cinema. when Eric asks her to make “It was really fun to very proud to the occasional cameo, she watch it with a new jokes. “The things I do for audience, a young have been part you,” she quips to her first audience,” says Eric. of his movies” director. But she’s still in the Prod him for memories game, in a different capacity. of the shoot, and he — Lum May Yee on 12 Storeys Now a talent agent, she helps remembers that he had and working with Eric to manage the careers of two cameras. Because up-and-comers such as Hong he was working Kong-American action star with many first-time actors, “I knew I’d get Celina Jade and Canadian-Korean actor Peter Lee Jae Yoon. their best on the first take. I wanted a lot of Like Michelle, who worked as an actor in Vancouver, Canada conversations in this movie, so you see a lot for a good decade, these are bilingual, bicultural performers of talking heads. One camera would be on one whose successes increasingly hinge on the thriving markets of actor, the other camera on the other actor. I’d Asia rather than Hollywood. Her past experience makes her be in a room next door, just watching them on uniquely suited for the job. “I’ve been through this before, the monitor. If the performances were good and I know what they feel insecure about, what they may on the first take, that’s it, we’d use that”. have concerns about.” One of these first-timers was Lum May Yee, The vivacious Michelle is also a diehard romantic, and says who was in university at the time, and she agreed to play the part of Bunny because “I just thought dabbling in some part-time modelling. She it was a beautiful love story”. Eric also has fond memories was already friends with Eric when he asked of Mee Pok Man, which he affectionately calls his “firstborn”. her to read for the part of Trixie, a rebellious “None of us had made a feature film before. It only dawned teenager with an overbearing older brother. on us when we premiered the film at Majestic Cinema, for “I just came with an open mind, because I had the Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF), that we nothing to lose. It was just something I tried had actually finished this film.” He made the movie with film for fun,” she recalls. “The whole experience stock from Kodak, part of a prize he had won for an earlier was quite an eye-opener. The hours were long, short film,Pain. “I had a lot of master shots, but I didn’t have but the crew were just amazing people to enough film to do more cutaways. My shooting ratio was very work with, and Eric was really chill and fun, small, just 2:1, which means the final film used half of all the he just wanted us to be natural.” footage shot. That became the tone and look of Mee Pok Man. May Yee is now a businesswoman and If I’d had more film, maybe I’d have done more coverage, and mother of two young boys, and while she it’d be different in terms of tempo.” NOODLING AROUND Both Mee Pok Man and 12 Storeys have been recently restored, and these newly digitised versions can be found in a new box set of his work, which will be released this month. An Eric Khoo movie usually features an alienated protagonist. An Eric Khoo anecdote, on the other hand, involves meeting interesting characters over drinks, at least judging by what he shares during this interview. , his 2008 Tamil-language film about his roots. “It’s a heartfelt drama about forgiveness and about the relationship between a father and compassion,” says Eric. “I’ve always been fascinated with his son, was inspired by Bosco Francis, a Japanese culture, there’s something very sublime about it. And magician he first met years ago. “We became it was a dream to have singer Seiko Matsuda as the female friends, and once when we met up in a bar, lead, I’ve been a big fan of hers since I was a kid.” A serious he asked, do you want to see me eat glass? foodie himself, Eric’s eyes light up when he talks about the So first I told my friend, who owned the bar: hybrid dish that lends the movie its title—a combination of if he succeeds, don’t charge me for the glass. ramen and bak kut teh. It will feature prominently during Then Francis starts, and the movie’s promotion in I kid you not, everyone Japan, and he has hopes that there was squirming it could become an enduring watching him eat the “It was fusion dish. glass. I said, I’ve got to If you include Ramen Teh, do a film with you. The a quieter, he has made seven feature opening scene will be you more internal films. After 12 Storeys, he eating glass, and the great also started producing other thing is I won’t have to do kind of film-makers’ work, because special effects, because it’ll “I wanted more people in the be all real.” performance industry. It’s nice to have a In 2011, he made community that can work and Tatsumi, an animated —a different create together”. His work in feature based on challenge” this area links him to significant the life and work of Singapore film-makers such seminal Japanese manga — Ezann Lee on as Royston Tan, artist Yoshihiro Tatsumi, and Anthony Chen. He is whose stories Eric had also full of praise for Kirsten been enamoured with since his early twenties. Tan. “I love her movie Pop Aye. It’s so original, quirky, “Our first meeting took place in a smoky and has so much heart. I seriously feel she’s just totally unique basement bar in Japan,” he remembers. “We and will go very far.” He was also an early supporter of Jack were there for three hours with an interpreter, Neo’s film ambitions, back when the latter was still more and I wasn’t sure if he was getting what I known as a TV performer. Jack was also part of the 12 Storeys leading ladies Eric’s movies was trying to tell him. But afterwards, he cast. “I love his humour,” Eric says. “I met him because years were launch pads for the cinematic shook my hand and said: make the movie.” ago, I used to go to this hole in the wall place called A&T, careers of Michelle Goh (left) When the film screened at Cannes, Tatsumi which was a very cheap outfit to do editing. I’d be editing and Ezann Lee, who both played squeezed his hand as they walked up the something, and Jack would be in another room working on his crucial roles in Mee Pok Man and Be With Me, respectively red carpet together. “He was happy. He only short films. He even won an award at the SGIFF for a short he told me then that he’d always wanted to be submitted. Some of his early shorts are incredible, very dark. Michelle wears nero wool a film‑maker, but never did become one, He’s very talented.” dress with duchesse belt by because he didn’t like to work with people. He still makes it a point to watch a lot of short films by Bottega Veneta; High Jewellery To be able to put his characters on the students, because it’s one of the best ways to spot new talent. earrings in white gold with yellow and white diamonds, big screen at the biggest film festival, that “Most stories have been told before, so you have to find some High Jewellery necklace in white was fantastic.” new way to tell it, whether it’s emotionally or in terms of gold with yellow sapphire and His next project, Ramen Teh, is slated for inventive form. When you watch a short, you’ll know in the yellow and white diamonds, and a 2018 release and also taps into his love first couple of minutes whether the film-maker has a voice Coup d’Éclat de Cartier ring in for Japanese culture. It will tell the story of his own.” This year, in a full-circle moment, he was one of white gold with diamonds, all by Cartier; Ezann wears desert of a half‑Singaporean, half-Japanese ramen five judges for Cannes’ Short Film Competition Palme d’Or, rose honeycomb silk and lurex chef (played by Takumi Saito) who comes to and Cinéfondation, which focuses on shorts by film students. dress and crocodile belt, both by Singapore for the first time to find out more For the new film-makers he works with, “I always tell them, if Bottega Veneta; High Jewellery ring you can, you should make your first feature film with all your in platinum with yellow diamond heart, because you don’t know if it’ll be your last film. Then, if and diamonds, and High Jewellery bracelet in platinum with green and you can premiere it at a good festival, your film will be seen, yellow sapphires and diamonds, get press, and get distribution. Having been in the industry both by Cartier for so long, I know it’s important to push the film, and get LIGHT AND SHADOW Michelle relished the romance of Eric’s debut feature, Mee Pok the sales agents on board. You have to think TV series, 7th Month (which is how he first “It was a quieter, more internal kind of performance—a Man, which was about the whole thing, not just the making of got to know actress Ezann Lee, who later different challenge,” she says. In fact, her Jackie is the inspired by a short story by writer the film”. made her feature film debut in his 2005 sole protagonist that appears on the cover artwork of Damien Sin All in all, he is pretty optimistic about the filmBe With Me). In 2009, his production the upcoming box set of Eric’s work. The reason: “Her way the film industry here has grown since company Zhao Wei Films set up an longing expression speaks volumes and sums up the Nero wool dress he got started. “Singapore’s not that big, independent horror and fantastical genre heart of all my works,” he explains. “Ezann is intuitive, with duchesse belt and the directors who have emerged have label named Gorylah Pictures, together with sensitive and looks like the girls I used to draw when I was by Bottega Veneta; High Jewellery done pretty well on international platforms. Mike Wiluan’s Infinite Frameworks. He has a teenager—chiselled and sad.” earrings in There’s definitely promise. And now, it’s a also produced box office winners such as As for why he is only delving into his beloved genre white gold with digital world. If you have a smartphone, you 23:59 (2011) and Ghost Child (2013). now, Eric says: “I couldn’t really make my first film a horror yellow and white can be a film-maker. If you have a laptop, you “I just love the genre so much,” says Eric, film, because then I’d be typecast. So I had to make movies diamonds; High can edit a movie. That opens the doors to rattling off a list of horror legends such that were a little bit more artistic first. Now, with more Jewellery necklace in white gold with many more auteurs who wouldn’t have the as George Romero and experience, I feel more brave, and yellow sapphire budget to do it otherwise. The films we made Sam Raimi. “You have to more free to explore.” and yellow and way back then are somewhat rudimentary respect these film-makers, Actually, even his artistic works white diamonds; compared to the films we’re looking at now, because a lot of them started “I just are gently haunted—the dead often Coup d’Éclat de so just in terms of student work alone, there’s off with miniscule budgets linger in his cinematic universe, silently Cartier ring in thought white gold with been a big jump in quality.” and they had to be really observing the struggles of the living. diamonds, all inventive. Asian horror it was a Perhaps film itself is essentially a by Cartier WHAT LIES BENEATH is sometimes even more spectral medium, a capture of electric For the next phase of his career, Eric says scary, because everybody beautiful shadows that stay the same even as the he is going back to his roots—horror. As a here believes in the spirit real world transforms. Eric jokes that child, this youngest son of businessman and world, so the work becomes love story” the buildings he puts in his films always philanthropist was just in a lot more frightening. For — Michelle Goh on Mee Pok Man end up being demolished afterwards, time to experience the tail end of Singapore’s a Singapore film to achieve but the coffee shop where Mee Pok Man golden age of cinema, thanks to his mother success in the big box was set is still standing, in a Tiong Rose Marie. She loved horror movies, and office internationally, I believe the only Bahru that has gentrified almost beyond recognition. It had no qualms about taking her young son genre is horror.” transforms into a posh yakitori joint at night, but by day, there to locally-made pontianak films, as well as He is working on something now, which is still mee pok, and there is even a poster of Mee Pok Man Hollywood fare such as The Exorcist. “At he can’t talk about at the moment, but we on the wall, which feels almost like a talisman tacked on to least once a week, we would catch the 4pm do catch fragments of his conversations with arrest time. So, before we find out what a horror movie made show at cinemas such as Capitol, The Globe make-up artist June Goh, who happens to by a Cultural Medallion recipient looks like, there is this: a and Lido. Really visceral horror movies were be quite an expert in special effects make- reunion of some of his most indelible characters, in a location her passion. I was scared at first, but after a up; and with Ezann, whom he seemed that has somehow persisted. Bunny, Trixie and Jackie were while, I just started wondering how they got to be courting for a new project. Her girls who yearned to be somewhere else, anywhere but here. those amazing shots.” nearly wordless performance in Be With In the movies, they didn’t all make it. But in this particular He has dipped his toes into horror Me as Jackie, a lovelorn teenager, allowed popular imagination, they have survived. Their vivid shadows before. In 2004, he produced a supernatural her to show new depths as an actress. haunt us still.

photographer’s assistant: tang kin yee; stylist’s assistant: joey tan

Selected filmography 2008 My Magic, a story about 2011 Tatsumi, a homage to the 2015 1995 Mee Pok Man 1997 the relationship between a life and work of manga artist In The Room is an erotic is the story of a lonely 12 Storeys father and his young son, is Yoshihiro Tatsumi, shows at the drama that features a hawker’s obsession with a focuses on nominated for the prestigious Cannes Film Festival and makes multinational cast enacting disillusioned prostitute. The the private Palme d’Or at Cannes. its North American premiere at stories that took place in film won many accolades angst of a The Museum of Modern Art in the same hotel room across on the festival circuit. group of New York. several decades. heartlanders. It was the 2005 Be With Me is inspired first made- by the life of Theresa Chan, 2018 Ramen Teh is a heartfelt in-Singapore a courageous deaf and blind drama that will feature two of film to be invited to participate woman, and was the opening Eric’s biggest passions—Japanese in the Cannes Film Festival. film of the Directors’ Fortnight culture and food. The cast includes at the Cannes Film Festival. Japanese star Seiko Matsuda and Singapore actress Jeanette Aw.