23° TORINO FILM FESTIVAL

Be With Me

Year: 2005

Duration: 90'

A tapestry of stories woven around the themes of love, hope and destiny. The characters of Be With Me lead separate lives but are bound by one common desire: to be with their loved one. The protagonists in the movie are factious but one, Theresa Chan, a courageous deaf and blind woman whose life story inspired the film.

"Love, Hope and Destiny. For more than a year, my co-writer Wong Kim Hoh and I grappled and struggled, trying to pin these themes down in a script. It was only in the summer of 2003 that Fate brought Theresa Chan - who's deaf and blind - into our lives at a wedding dinner [...]. Overwhelmed by her personality and vigor for life, I asked if she'd act for me. Without any hesitation, she lifted her wine glass and said loudly: 'On!' We began to communicate through letters. I discovered that this one person represented everything I wanted to say in the film [...]. In 2004, we wrapped Be With Me in 16 days". (E. Khoo)

FILM DIRECTOR

PRIZES

Biography

film director

Eric Khoo

Eric Khoo (Singapore) with his first feature film, Mee Pok Man (1995), received various awards at the festivals in Fukuoka, Busan and Singapore, while his next film, 12 Storeys (1997), received a prize at the 17^th Hawaii International Film Festival. In 2005, Be with Me was chosen as the opening film at the Quinzaine des réalisateurs in Cannes, where three years later his film My Magic competed. Khoo has received the highest artistic honors from his country and was also named Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French Minister of Culture. Since 2007 he has been a member of the executive council of the New York University Tisch School of the Arts Asia.

FILMOGRAFIA

filmografia/filmography

Mee Pok Man (1995), 12 Storeys (1997), Be with Me (2005), My Magic (2008), Tatsumi (anim., 2011).

TFF

prizes

FEATURE FILM COMPETITION 2005

Best Director Award

HOLDEN AWARD 2005

Special Mention

CINEMAVVENIRE AWARD 2005

CinemaAvvenire Award