Homegrown filmmaker Boo Junfeng is unafraid of exploring potentially touchy topics in his work, a quality that has helped the young director make a name on the world cinematic stage with various award-winning features.

Boo’s 2010 debut, Sandcastle, which details the coming-of-age of a young man living in a dysfunctional family, was the first Singaporean film to be invited to the Cannes Film Festival’s International Critics’ Week. Sandcastle subsequently went on to air at film festivals worldwide, including London, Vancouver, Toronto and Busan. The film was also named by The Wall Street Journal as one of Asia’s most notable films of 2010. His follow-up, Apprentice, premiered in 2016 at the Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard section and touches on the death penalty from a prison executioner’s point of view.

His short films have also clinched several awards at the Singapore International Film Festival; these include Best Short Film for A Family Portrait, the Special Jury Prize for Katong Fugue, and Best Short Film and Best Director for Keluar Baris. At age 34, Boo was also the youngest-ever creative director of Singapore's National Day Parade in 2018. He is currently working on his as-yet-unnamed third feature film, which explores topics such as faith and sexuality.