ET, as he is affectionately known, grew up on a diet of popular Hollywood action blockbusters when he was in primary and secondary school, before being enlightened by the world of cinema through the astounding library collection of classics, foreign language and art-house DVD titles at Meridian Junior College.
Compelled by the power and beauty of the medium, he started writing film reviews in 2007. He has not stopped since, continuing to average four reviews a week.
He is also regarded by the local film community as Singapore’s most active and prolific film critic, with more than 2,700 reviews currently archived on his blog that has both local and international readers. His site clinched the Best Individual Blog title at the Singapore Blog Awards 2015. He was also invited by Sight & Sound to select 10 films for its once-a-decade poll of the greatest films of all time in 2022.
ET is the Managing Director and Co-Founder of The Filmic Eye, a film education initiative that has organized screenings, talks and workshops for schools, libraries, community centers and partner organizations, and reached out to more than 25,000 students, adults and senior citizens since 2013.
Under the initiative, he distributed the Golden Horse-winning environmental documentary ‘Beyond Beauty: Taiwan from Above’ at Cathay Cineplexes in Singapore in 2014, and produced and executive-produced 15 short films for the Singapore Writers Festival (2015, 2017) and Silver Arts Festival (2016, 2017, 2018).
If watching a great film opens the window to a magnificent discovery, marked by a flurry of transient thoughts, writing its review closes the door behind it, to which that discovery could be articulated and those thoughts forever crystallised.
ET is an Adjunct Lecturer at the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication & Information (Nanyang Technological University), supervising final-year live-action and documentary projects, and teaching Asian Cinema, Popular Cinema and Film Festival Practicum (Perspectives Film Festival). He also teaches History of Film & Animation at DigiPen Singapore Institute of Technology, Film Art & History at the School of Design & Media (Nanyang Polytechnic) and Cult Film at Shelton College International.
In addition, he is the Vice-Chair and Programming Director of the Singapore Film Society, supervising curatorial matters related to film festivals and regular screenings.
He also formerly worked as part of the Contingent Talent supporting the Editorial Insights team at Netflix.
He loves music as much as cinema and considers John Williams, Ennio Morricone, Kitaro, Vangelis and Joe Hisaishi his ‘Fab Five’. He’s also a diehard Blink and Swiftie.
Qualifications & Credentials
2022: Invited to select 10 films for Sight & Sound’s once-a-decade poll of the greatest films of all time
2018-2019: Master of Education (Curriculum & Teaching) – National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University
2009-2013: Bachelor of Communication Studies (Honours) – Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University. Minor in Education Studies – National Institute of Education
2015: Winner of Best Individual Blog, and Finalist for Best Topical Blog for Singapore Blog Awards. (Nominee for 2011, 2013 & 2014)
2015: Mentor and guest speaker for Youth Jury Programme of the 26th Singapore International Film Festival (also in 2014)
2013: Delegate speaker for Redesigning Pedagogy International Conference: Thinking – Time for a Rethink? – “Film Literacy & Education in Singapore” – National Institute of Education.
2013: Delegate speaker for Joint 7th SELF Biennial International Conference and Educational Research Association of Singapore (ERAS) Conference – ‘Film Literacy & Education: Learning About Films, Learning Through Films’.
2013: Guest speaker for The Asian Cinema Workshop: Strategizing and Modelling Space in Asian Films – “Film Literacy & Education in Singapore” – Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University.
2012: Guest speaker for Managing Diversity in Singapore Conference – “Managing Localness in Singapore Cinema” – Institute of Policy Studies, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore.
2012: Guest speaker for “What the Flick?! The Art of Writing Film Reviews” – Young Writers’ Media Festival.
For enquiries, please drop me a message below. Due to the numerous requests by cinephiles and independent filmmakers from all over the world to review various shorts and features, I regret that my bandwidth is limited due to the daily grind of work to take them up at this time. I appreciate your enthusiasm and passion! 🙂
Eternality Tan 