Khoa Do (, ), is a Vietnamese-born Australian

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

, and

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

. 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 Government-owned social enterprise. Similar awards are also conferred at the state and territor ...

Award in 2005.

Early life and family

The Do family left Vietnam in 1980 as

Vietnamese refugees Vietnamese boat people () were 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 highest in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but continued well into the earl ...

, fleeing

Saigon Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

by boat. At the age of 19 months, Khoa narrowly escaped death at the hands of Thai pirates. They arrived in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

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

Milsons Point Milsons Point is a suburb on the lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is located three kilometres north of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of North Sydney. Milsons Point is also the geo ...

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

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

. His brother is the comedian/author

Anh Do Anh Do (born 2 June 1977) is a Vietnamese Australian, Vietnamese-born Australian author, actor, comedian, and painter. He has appeared on Australian TV shows such as ''Thank God You're Here'' and ''Good News Week'', and was runner-up on ''Danci ...

. His mother Hien, played the role of Van Nguyen's mother, Kim, in '' Better Man'' (2013), a film which he produced.

Philanthropy

Khoa Do has been active in helping the under-privileged in

South Western Sydney South Western Sydney is a region of the city of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian c ...

, 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, also abbreviated as 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 in Australia, local gove ...

. 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 Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screenwritin ...

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 in Australia, local government area in the South-western Sydney, south-west region of Sydney, Australia, centred on the suburb of Bankstown, from 1895 to 2016. The last mayor of the City of Bankstow ...

) *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 g ...

*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 Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards, known as the AACTA Awards, are presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). The awards recognise excellence in the film and television industry, ...

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 are annual awards given by the Australian Writers' Guild (AWG), for excellence in screen, television, stage, and radio writing. History The AWGIE awards were conceived in 1967, with the first event being held in 1968. Bettina ...

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. * 2009 – DIGISPAA award for his film ''Missing Water'' (later released as '' Mother Fish''), 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 300 entries from filmmakers in more than 30 countries every year. The festival cul ...

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.

Selected filmography

* ''

The Diamond of Jeru ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The' ...

'' (2001, TV) *'' The Finished People'' (2003) *'' Footy Legends'' (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 cramped workplace with very poor and/or illegal working conditions, including little to no breaks, inadequate work space, insufficient lighting and ventilation, or uncomfortably or dangerously high or low temperat ...

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