Tatsumi

TATSUMI celebrates the life and work of Japanese comics artist Yoshihiro Tatsumi. In post-war occupied Japan, young Tatsumi's passion for comics eventually becomes a means of supporting his poor family. Already published as a teenager, talented Tatsumi finds even greater inspiration after meeting his idol, famous Disneyesque animator Osamu Tezuka. Despite his steady success, Tatsumi begins to question why Japanese comics should cater to children with cute and whimsical tales and drawings. In 1957, Tatsumi coins the term gekiga (dramatic pictures) and redefines the manga landscape by encouraging an alternative genre for adults. Realistic and disquieting, Tatsumi's work begins to grapple with the darker aspects of life...

TATSUMI marks Eric Khoo's return to Cannes in 2011  after his last feature MY MAGIC was presented in Competition in 2008.

Eric put Singapore on the international film map with his first feature film MEE POK MAN (1995), picking up prizes at Fukuoka, Pusan and Singapore. His second feature 12 STOREYS (1997) won several awards including the Golden Maile Award for Best Picture at the 17th Hawaii International Film Festival. 12 STOREYS was also the first Singaporean film to be invited officially to participate in the Cannes Film Festival. MEE POK MAN and 12 STOREYS have together been screened at over 60 film festivals, including Venice, Berlin and Rotterdam. Eric's third feature BE WITH ME was selected as the opening film for the Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes 2005. The film has since won several awards overseas and has been invited to numerous festivals, including Toronto, Telluride and Pusan. In 2006 Eric was invited to direct for the Jeonju Digital Film Festival in Korea – “No Day Off”, the story of an Indonesian maid.

Eric is a recipient of Singapore's highest arts honor: the Cultural Medallion by the President, and in 2008, he was awarded the “Chevalier de l’ordre des arts et des letters” from the French Minister of Culture. Since 2007, Eric has been a board member of NYU Tisch School of the Arts Asia.

Filmography

2011    TATSUMI
2009    Boo Junfeng's SANDCASTLE (producer)
2008    MY MAGIC
2007    Royston Tan's 881 (producer)
2006    "NO DAY OFF" (segment of omnibus feature DIGITAL SAM IN SAM SAEK 2006: TALK TO HER)
2005    Royston Tan's 4:30 (producer)
2005    BE WITH ME
2003    Royston Tan's 15 (producer)
2001    Khoo Koh's ONE LEG KICKING (producer)
1999    Bee Lian Teng's LIANG PO PO (producer)
1997    12 STOREYS
1995    MEE POK MAN