Hong Khaou (born 22 October 1975) is a British film director and screenwriter. He is known for his feature film debut, Lilting (2014).
Early life and education
Khaou was born in Cambodia, the youngest of four children born to Chinese-Cambodian parents. He was a few months old when the family fled to Vietnam after the Fall of Phnom Penh. They moved to England as political refugees when Khaou was eight years old."Filmmaker's Forum: Hong Khaou On The Emotional Journey of Bringing 'Lilting' To Sundance". , Indiewire, 30 January 2014. Retrieved 19 August 2014. He studied BA (Hons) Film Production at the Surrey Institute of Art & Design in Farnham, where he graduated in 1997."Lilting: Film graduate to release debut theatrical feature August 8th", University for the Creative Arts. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
Career
Khaou's short film Spring played at both the Sundance Film Festival, and the Berlin International Film Festival in 2011,"London In Berlin (2011)" , Film London, 9 February 2011. Retrieved 19 August 2014. with his previous short Summer also having premiered at Berlin in 2006."London In Berlin (2006)" , Film London, 10 February 2006. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
His debut feature film Lilting was produced under the Film London micro-budget scheme Microwave,"Lilting Overview". , Microwave, Film London. Retrieved 19 August 2014. and was released on 8 August 2014 in the United Kingdom by distributors Artificial Eye."Lilting" , Artificial Eye. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
He is the recipient of the 2014 Sundance Institute/Mahindra Global Filmmaking Award for his 2019 feature film Monsoon.
In 2021, Khaou directed four episodes of season 2 of the BBC One mystery television series Baptiste.
In 2023, he was announced as the director of Mr Loverman, BBC One's television series adaptation of Bernardine Evaristo's novel of the same name, starring Lennie James; and Alice & Jack, a romantic drama miniseries for Channel 4.
In 2026, Khaou executive produced the MGM+ and BBC One miniseries A Tale of Two Cities. It is based on the novel of the same name by Charles Dickens.
Filmography Short film Waiting for Movement (2005) Summer (2006)"Short Film Promotion Scheme Awardee", British Council. Retrieved 19 August 2014. Spring (2011)
Feature film Lilting (2014) Monsoon (2019)
Television Baptiste (2021) Alice & Jack (2024) Mr Loverman (2024) A Tale of Two Cities (2026; executive producer only)
References
External links