Khoa Do (

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overse ...

: ''Đỗ Khoa'', ), is a

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

, and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

. He received the

Young Australian of the Year The Australian of the Year is a national award conferred on an Australian citizen by the National Australia Day Council, a not-for-profit Australian Governmentowned social enterprise. Similar awards are also conferred at the State and Territo ...

Award in 2005.

Early life and family

The Do family left Vietnam in 1980 as

Vietnamese refugees Vietnamese boat people ( vi, Thuyền nhân Việt Nam), also known simply as boat people, refers to the refugees who fled Vietnam by boat and ship following the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. This migration and humanitarian crisis was at its h ...

, fleeing

Saigon , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

by boat. At the age of 18 months, Khoa narrowly escaped death at the hands of Thai pirates. They arrived in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

in August 1980. Do received a scholarship to attend St Aloysius' College in

Milsons Point Milsons Point is a suburb on the lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The suburb is located 3 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of North Sydney Council. Mil ...

, graduating in 1996. He studied Law and Arts at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

. His brother is the comedian/author Anh Do. His mother, Hien, played the role of Van Nguyen's mother, Kim, in '' Better Man'' (2013), a film which he produced.

Philanthropy

Do has been active in helping the under-privileged in

South Western Sydney South Western Sydney is a region of the metropolitan area in southwest Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the predominantly working class area of Greater Western Sydney. The region lies in the Cumberland Plain. Local government ...

, especially the Vietnamese community. While at university he worked as an English teacher and job-seeking-skills volunteer among the youth living in

Cabramatta Cabramatta ('Cabra') is a suburb in south-western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Cabramatta is located south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Fairfield. Cabramat ...

. In 2006, Do commenced voluntary work with disadvantaged kids at Cabramatta's Open Family Youth Social Services Centre, after being asked to teach film-making to "at risk" youths.

Recognition and awards

*2001 Young Citizen of the Year Award (

City of Bankstown The City of Bankstown was a local government area in the south-west region of Sydney, Australia, centred on the suburb of Bankstown, from 1895 to 2016. The last Mayor of the City of Bankstown Council was Clr Khal Asfour, a member of the Labor ...

) *2003 –

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or go ...

*2005 – Do was named Young Australian of the Year for his "leadership, compassion, and will to inspire and inform Australians on issues that affect our communities".

Film industry awards

* 2001 – Nominated for an

AFI Award The Australian Film Institute (AFI) was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Australian film industry. It is responsi ...

for his screen play for the short film ''Delivery Day'' * 2003 – IF Independent Spirit Award for '' The Finished People'' * 2004 – Nominated for two AFI Awards, three Film Critics' Circle Awards and two

Australian Writers' Guild Award The AWGIE Awards is an annual awards ceremony conducted by the Australian Writers' Guild, for excellence in screen, television, stage and radio writing. The awards began in 1967. The awards are judged by over 50 writers, most of whom are previo ...

s for this film and for his community theatre * 2005 – Powerhouse Wizard Award, which "recognises emerging leaders in Australian innovation and achievement". * 2008 –

Philip Parsons Young Playwrights Award The NSW Philip Parsons Fellowship for Emerging Playwrights, formerly the Philip Parsons Young Playwrights Award, is an Australian annual award for early-career playwrights in New South Wales, offered by Belvoir St Theatre and Arts NSW from 199 ...

. * 2009 – DIGISPAA award for his film ''Missing Water'' (later released as ''

Mother Fish ''Mother Fish'', also known as ''Missing Water'', is a feature film written, produced and directed by Khoa Do. The film draws largely from Khoa Do's own experiences as a Vietnamese refugee, and reflects on the perceived fear in the general popula ...

''), and also received the CRC Award for the same film at the

Sydney Film Festival The Sydney Film Festival is an annual competitive film festival held in Sydney, Australia, usually over 12 days in June. A number of awards are given, the top one being the Sydney Film Prize. the festival's director is Nashen Moodley. Histo ...

. For the same film he has subsequently won prizes at the

Orlando Film Festival The Orlando Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Orlando, Florida, for independent filmmakers to showcase their work. The festival attracts upwards of 1,000 entries from filmmakers in more than 30 countries every year. History The ...

Canada International Film Festival The Edgewater Casino is a former casino that was located at 760 Pacific Blvd South Vancouver, British Columbia. It was in operation from 2005 to 2017. History The Edgwater Casino opened in February 2005. In 2006, the casino was acquired by Par ...

and

Vietnamese International Film Festival First started in 2003, the Vietnamese International Film Festival (also known as ViFF) is a biennial film festival organized by the non-profits Vietnamese-American Arts & Letters Association (VAALA) and UCLAs VietNamese Language and Culture (VNLC). ...

Selected filmography

* ''

The Diamond of Jeru ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' (2001, TV) *'' The Finished People'' (2003) *''

Footy Legends ''Footy Legends'' is a 2006 Australian film, directed and co-written by Khoa Do, produced by Megan McMurchy, starring Khoa's older brother and co-writer Anh Do, Angus Sampson, Emma Lung and Claudia Karvan. It was filmed in and around the Sydne ...

'' (2006) *''Delivery Day'' (2009) – tells the story of a young girl and her struggle to balance the demands of school, her mother and the family's backyard

sweatshop A sweatshop or sweat factory is a crowded workplace with very poor, socially unacceptable or illegal working conditions. Some illegal working conditions include poor ventilation, little to no breaks, inadequate work space, insufficient lighting, o ...

and is heavily based on Do's own experience. *''

'' (2010) *'' Better Man'' (2013) *'' Schapelle'' (2014)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Do, Khoa 1979 births Vietnamese emigrants to Australia Australian film directors English-language film directors Living people People from Ho Chi Minh City People educated at St Aloysius' College (Sydney) Vietnamese refugees