Brits to Watch: The Screenings - Hong Khaou

BAFTA

In June 2014, Writer and director Hong Khaou presented his film debut film Lilting to industry professionals at screenings in Los Angeles and New York. The film premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Cinematography Award in the World Cinema Dramatic competition. He also received the Sundance Institute/ Mahindra Global Filmmaking Award for Monsoon, a project in development.

At each ‘Brits to Watch: The Screenings’ event, a British actor, director, writer or producer who shows great promise presents a sample of recent work to an exclusive audience of film industry professionals. BAFTA then arranges a number of follow-up meetings for the individuals to meet with key industry figures in both cities.

Cambodian-born with British citizenship, writer-director Hong Khaou began writing for the theatre, where he participated in various attachments, including a joint initiative with the BBC and the Royal Court Theatre. He spent seven years at independent film distribution company Peccadillo Pictures, where he managed the Home Entertainment department, and was part of the acquisitions team.

Making the move into filmmaking, Khaou wrote and directed two short films, Spring (2011) andSummer (2006), which were selected for the Sundance and Berlin international film festivals respectively. His debut feature film, Lilting, stars Ben Whishaw as Londoner Richard, and Cheng Pei Pei as the Cambodian-Chinese mother of Richard’s recently deceased boyfriend. The film, which has sold in over 12 territories internationally, had its world premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, in the World Dramatic Competition, where he also received the Sundance Institute/Mahindra Global Filmmaking Award for his project Monsoon.