Edmund Yeo

Edmund Yeo (born 6 March 1984, in Singapore) is a Malaysian filmmaker based in Japan. He made several short films before directing his feature-length debut, River of Exploding Durians, in 2014.

Edmund Yeo

Early life

Yeo was born in Singapore. His father, Eric Yeo, is a film critic and a former exec of Polygram Records, where he produced the albums of the band Alleycats. His mother, Chik Soon Come, was a pop singer.[1] Yeo moved to Petaling Jaya, Malaysia with his parents when he was 2.

He completed his Bachelor in Commerce at Murdoch University in Perth in 2005, majoring in Marketing and minoring in English Literature. Yeo then chose to enrol in a one-year graduate diploma course in media production at the same university.

Career

In 2007, Yeo joined Greenlight Pictures, the production company of Malaysian filmmaker Woo Ming Jin, and took over producing and editing duties for Woo's film The Elephant and the Sea during post-production.

Yeo began writing and directing short films in 2008. His first short film, Chicken Rice Mystery, was made in March 2008, just before he moved to Tokyo to continue his Masters in Waseda University. The short received a Best Acting Performance award for its lead actress Kimmy Kiew, and also an honourable mention at Malaysia's BMW Shorties 2008 from a jury that included Filipino filmmaker Raymond Red, Malaysian filmmaker Tan Chui Mui and actress Ida Nerina. A few months later, Yeo made an experimental short, Fleeting Images, a homage to Sans Soleil by French director Chris Marker. The short won the Grand Prix at the 6th CON-CAN Movie Festival in 2009 from an international jury that consisted of members like the Japanese filmmaker Naomi Kawase.

He began rising to prominence in 2009 by writing and directing Love Suicides and Kingyo, two short films loosely adapted from the works of Yasunari Kawabata. Love Suicides had its world premiere at the Festival Paris Cinéma 2009 and won the Best Director award at the China Mobile Film Festival 2009. Kingyo, his first Japanese-language short, was selected for competition at the 66th Venice International Film Festival and won at Larissa Mediterranean Festival of New Filmmakers.[2] Yeo was the youngest Malaysian filmmaker to ever compete in the prestigious film festival.[3] Kingyo later received the Silver Grand Prix and Best New Creator awards at Japan's Eibunren Awards 2009. At the same year, he produced and edited Woo Ming Jin's Woman On Fire Looks For Water, which was also screened at the 66th Venice International Film Festival.

In 2010, Yeo produced, co-wrote and edited Woo Ming Jin's The Tiger Factory, which premiered at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival. He directed numerous short films of his own on the same year. Yeo was one of the eight filmmakers for Prada's Yo Video! Project, directing a one-minute short film called NOW that was streamed on Prada's official website.[4]

Yeo also directed a short film spin-off of The Tiger Factory called Inhalation. A heavily improvised work adapted from a two-page script,[5] Inhalation won the Sonje Award for Best Asian Short Film at Busan International Film Festival. The film was played together with The Tiger Factory at certain festival screenings, like Vancouver, Tokyo, Jakarta and Cinemanila International Film Festivals.

His short film Exhalation premiered in competition at the Dubai International Film Festival and screened at the 40th edition of the Rotterdam International Film Festival.

In 2014, Yeo's debut feature film River of Exploding Durians premiered in competition at the Tokyo International Film Festival. It was the first ever Malaysian film to be invited to the main competition section of the festival.[6]

He returned to Tokyo International Film Festival in 2017 with two films, his sophomore film Aqerat in main competition, and a documentary Yasmin-san. He won the Best Director award for Aqerat.

Filmography

Director
  • Chicken Rice Mystery (2008)
  • Fleeting Images (2008)
  • Love Suicides (2009)
  • kingyo (2009)
  • The White Flower (2010)
  • Afternoon River, Evening Sky (2010)
  • NOW (2010)
  • Inhalation (2010)
  • Exhalation (2010)
  • Last Fragments of Winter (2011)
  • River of Exploding Durians (2014)
  • Yasmin-san (2017)
  • We, the Dead (2017)

Producer
  • The Elephant and the Sea (2007)
  • Woman On Fire Looks For Water (2009)
  • The Tiger Factory (2010)
  • The Second Life of Thieves (2014)

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 9 March 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2019.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. We list Malaysians in the film industry who’ve been awarded internationally
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 15 June 2010. Retrieved 19 June 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. http://www.prada.com/en#yo-video
  5. "Interview: Edmund Yeo talks River of Exploding Durians and Inhalation". FilmDoo. 1 February 2017. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  6. http://www.filmbiz.asia/news/tokyo-iff-highlights-young-asian-talent
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