Current Role | Director, Screenwriter, Member of 13 Little Pictures |
Previous Position | Philosophy Lecturer | Visual Artist |
Key Recognition | Golden Leopard Winner – Locarno Film Festival | Singapore Cultural Medallion (Young Artist Award) |
Background and Early Foundations
Yeo Siew Hua grew up in Singapore’s multilingual heartlands and studied philosophy at Nanyang Technological University. A founding member of the 13 Little Pictures film collective, he quickly stood out for fusing cinematic form with political and existential depth.
His 2018 feature, A Land Imagined, earned Singapore’s first Golden Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival, launching him onto the international stage.
Today, the Yeo Siew Hua story reflects how Southeast Asian voices can reshape global cinema — through memory, migration, and imagination.
Career Milestones and Impact
Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
2009 | Debuted In the House of Straw at international indie festivals |
2018 | Won Golden Leopard at Locarno for A Land Imagined |
2019 | Selected as Singapore’s entry for the Academy Awards – Best International Film |
2023 | Collaborated with Netflix Asia for an upcoming Southeast Asian sci-fi drama |
2024 | Launched Imaginary Homelands – a docu-fiction lab for emerging SEA directors |
- Creative Focus: Migrant labor, memory, urban alienation, speculative futures
- Festival Reach: Venice, Rotterdam, Busan, Berlinale
- Teaching & Mentoring: Leads masterclasses at LASALLE, NTU, and SEAFIC Bangkok
- Languages Used in Work: English, Mandarin, Bengali, Hokkien, Malay (depending on story)
Leadership Style and Influence
Yeo is considered one of the most intellectually rigorous and visually poetic filmmakers from Asia:
- Elevates underrepresented voices — especially migrant workers and transnationals
- Melds philosophy, geopolitics, and art in slow cinema formats
- Actively builds regional collaboration labs for next-gen SEA filmmakers
He brings quiet power to every frame — shifting how Singapore and Asia are seen, not just shown.
Legacy and Future Focus
Yeo’s legacy is already evident in:
- Reframing Singapore cinema from consumerist gloss to political and emotional realism
- Giving intellectual voice to blue-collar narratives across Asia
- Championing cross-border production rooted in ethical storytelling
His upcoming projects include:
- A speculative trilogy about climate displacement in the South China Sea
- Co-creating a multi-language anthology with partners in Thailand and Indonesia
- Launching a film-philosophy journal for Asian creators and theorists
