Founded in 1995 by filmmaker Eric Khoo, Zhao Wei Films arrived onto the scene with Mee Pok Man, a raw and unflinching debut that helped spark the revival of Singapore cinema. The film earned international critical acclaim and became the first local film to gain recognition at over fifty festivals including Berlin, Venice and Busan.
Khoo’s follow-up, 12 Storeys, went on to make history as the first Singaporean film chosen for Official Selection Cannes Film Festival. Together with his colleagues in 1997, Khoo wrote the white paper that resulted in the formation of the Singapore Film Commission in 1998. Over the years, Zhao Wei Films became a key launchpad for Singapore filmmaking talent, producing the early features of directors including Jack Neo, Royston Tan, Boo Junfeng and Brian Gothong Tan. Anthony Chen, Kirsten Tan and Nicole Midori Woodford also started their early careers directing commercials with Zhao Wei Films.
Its films have since travelled to leading film festivals including Sundance, Telluride, Tokyo, Rotterdam, Toronto, Locarno, San Sebastián and secured international distribution by major sales agents.
In 2018, Zhao Wei Films partnered with HBO Asia to produce the six-part anthology horror series Folklore. The series was renewed for a second season in 2021. Showrun by Khoo, it brought together established filmmakers from across the region, including Pen-ek Ratanaruang and Sitisiri Mongkolsiri from Thailand, Joko Anwar from Indonesia, Takumi Saito and Seiko Matsuda from Japan, Erik Matti from the Philippines, and Shih-Han Liao from Taiwan. Folklore premiered to critical acclaim at Toronto International Film Festival, Fantastic Fest, Sitges Film Festival, Séries Mania, and the Tokyo International Film Festival.
The company continued to expand its regional footprint and in 2022, collaborating with CJ Entertainment to produce Hungry Souls and creating the original unscripted series Food Affair with Mark Wiens for HBO Max. In 2024, the company released two features: Eric Khoo's Spirit World which closed the Busan international Film Festival and Mike Wiluan's creature feature Orang Ikan (Monster Island), which hit number one on US Shudder.
To mark Singapore’s 60th birthday in 2025, Zhao Wei Films produced Kopitiam Days in collaboration with six Singaporean directors that platformed on Netflix.
GORYLAH PICTURES was established in 2009 in Singapore by Zhao Wei Films and Infinite Studios, with the aim of creating an independent horror and fantastical genre label.
Long time collaborators Eric Khoo from Zhao Wei Films and Mike Wiluan from Infinite Studios serve as Executive Producers under the Gorylah label, and together with the team at Gorylah, collaborate with filmmakers to introduce South East Asian talents and its unique brand of genre films to the rest of the world.
Gorylah has produced critically acclaimed genre films such as MACABRE (2009), which was screened at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, as well as local horror favorites including 23:59 (2009), GHOST CHILD (2013), and 23:59 – THE HAUNTING HOUR (2018).
Gorylah recently premiered its latest feature, ORANG IKAN (2024), a WWII-era creature feature directed by Mike Wiluan. The film had its world premiere at the Tokyo International Film Festival and was also screened at the 23rd edition of the Trieste Science Fiction Festival. The company’s latest co-production, MORTE CUCINA (2025), a revenge-driven food drama, reunites Pen-ek Ratanaruang and Christopher Doyle in their latest collaboration.
