Eric Khoo’s Spirit World to close Busan film festival
Singaporean film-maker Eric Khoo’s latest work Spirit World has been selected as the closing film for the 29th Busan International Film Festival (Biff).
This marks the first time a Singaporean production has been chosen to close the Biff, considered one of Asia’s leading film festivals.
The world premiere of Spirit World is scheduled to take place at Busan Cinema Centre on Oct 11 with an expected audience of 4,000 people. The 29th Biff is set to run from Oct 2 to 11 and will showcase a wide range of films from the region and beyond.
Khoo has a long-standing relationship with the Biff. His debut feature, the art-house horror work Mee Pok Man (1995), was shown at the first edition of the festival in 1996.
Spirit World is Khoo’s eighth feature film and features a screenplay written by his son, Edward Khoo, with dialogue in French and Japanese. The narrative follows an iconic French singer Claire, played by celebrated French actress Catherine Deneuve. After dying suddenly during a tour in Japan, Claire finds herself in the afterlife.
Deneuve’s career spans several decades, with notable roles in The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg (1964), Belle De Jour (1967) and Indochine (1992). She has numerous accolades, including Bafta and Academy Award nominations.
Japanese actor Yutaka Takenouchi (monster movie Shin Godzilla, 2016) co-stars, along with veteran comedian and actor Masaaki Sakai and actress Jun Fubuki.
In a press statement, Biff programmer Park Sung-ho says the film “addresses the fundamental questions of human existence and the meaning of life”.
“The excellent performances of the veteran cast will deeply move and linger in the minds of the audience. I am delighted to be able to provide this special experience of Spirit World to many festivalgoers for the closing film of this year’s Busan International Film Festival,” adds Park.
The film is set to be released in Singapore in mid-2025.
It is an international co-production involving M.I. Movies (France), Zhao Wei Films (Singapore), Knockonwood (Japan), Wild Orange Artists (Japan) and Fourier Films (Japan). It received development assistance from the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan, with support from the Singapore Film Commission’s Long-Form Content Grant – Go-Global.
Principal photography took place in Japan. The production brought together crew members from Japan, France and Singapore.
Khoo says the film is dedicated to his pet pomeranian, Woofy, who died in 2018 at the age of 16.
The film-maker and the Biff have a “love affair” that began when his debut feature Mee Pok Man was accepted in competition for the New Currents Award.
“Almost 30 years on, I am truly touched and deeply honoured to be now closing Asia’s top film festival with Spirit World, a personal dedication to my dearly departed best friend, Woofy,” says Khoo.
“Watching our Japanese, French and Singaporean crew become one family in Japan earlier this year – that’s the magic of film-making. I can’t wait to share this spiritual feature for our world premiere at the Busan Cinema Centre.”
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