Be With Me Trailer

Be With Me the new film by Eric Khoo (Mee Pok Man, 12 Storeys) is a tapestry of stories woven around the themes of love, hope and destiny. The characters lead separate lives but are bound by one common desire – to be with their loved one. The protagonists in the movie are fictitious bar one – Theresa Chan, a courageous deaf and blind woman whose life story inspired Be With Me.

About the Film

The cinematic equivalent of a hymn, Be With Me is a film about human beings and their search for love. In his latest film, Eric Khoo manages to explore the themes of urban loneliness and the sentimental “spleen” without sinking into a cynical abyss. Neither does he resort to cruel psychological stereotypes. In fact, the film is a veritable song of hope; it reclaims the real meaning of the word “humanism”.

Like a seductive melody, the musical quality of Be With Me has an immediate hold on our senses. The filmmaker has composed a symphony of complex emotions, with very frugal use of dialogue. The artful orchestration of fiction and reality, invented and real characters imbues Be With Me with a rare quality; it’s almost like a cinematographic essay.

Inspired by the memories, biography and everyday life of a remarkable woman Theresa Chan, Eric Khoo has not just made a movie. Be With Me is also a testimony to and meditation on love, hope and destiny.

It’s remarkable that a movie with such resonance should come from Singapore, a country traditionally quiet on the cinematic front. The film’s universality comes from not just from the inspiring character of Theresa Chan but from its haunting beauty. Be With Me eschews superfluous effects to concentrate on essential concerns – how to film memories, how to film sensations and how to film feelings?

Finally, we love this film because Be With Me confirms that the best minimalist films can capture immense perspectives, which are those of the heart and soul.

Oliver Pere
Artistic Director
The Festival de Cannes
Directors’ Fortnight
(translated from French)

• Telluride Film Festival
• Toronto International Film Festival
• Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival
• Vancouver International Film Festival
• Pusan International Film Festival
• Flanders International Film Festival (Sabam Prize for Best Screenplay)
• Chicago International Film Festival
• Haifa International Film Festival
• Hofer Filmtage

• CJ Asian Independent Film Festival Seoul (Audience Award)
• Tokyo International Film Festival (Special Mention)
• Torino Film Festival (Best Director)
  CinemAvvenire Award: The Jury of the CinemAvvenire Award, composed of 20 young people from CinemAvvenire)
  (Holden School Award for Best Screenplay – Special Mention)
• Thessaloniki International Film Festival
• Gijon International Film Festival
• Brussels Festival of Independent Film (Best Director)
• Stockholm International Film Festival
  (FIRPRESCI Jury Best Film)
  (Best Cinematography)

• Fribourg International Film Festival
  (Special Mention Jury Prize)
  (Ecumenical Jury Award)
  (Don Quijote Prize – FICC Jury)
• Mar Del Plata International Film Festival (Special Mention)
• Film Indianapolis International Film Festival (The Best of East Asia Award)
• Oporto International Film Festival (Fantasporto Special Prize Of The Júri)
• 5th Commonwealth Film Festival, Manchester UK
  (Runner-up in Audience Award)