Khoa Do was born in 1979 in Saigon, Vietnam. Khoa and his family arrived in Sydney, Australia in 1980 as Vietnamese refugees and since then, two of the brothers Khoa and Anh have grown up to be veritable Australian celebrities – Anh is becoming well-known as a comedian whilst Khoa has been very busy being a film director, screenwriter, professional speaker and philanthropist.
During his school years, Khoa received a scholarship to attend St Aloysius’ College in Milson’s Point, graduating in 1996 and going on to study Law and Arts at the University of Sydney.
While at University, Khoa worked as an English teacher and job-seeking-skills-volunteer among the youth living in Cabramatta. For his efforts, he was awarded the 2001 Young Citizen of the Year Award (Bankstown City) and in 2003, he also received a Centenary Medal.
During this time he also wrote Delivery Day, which was nominated for an AFI Award and was screened at over twenty film festivals, winning numerous awards including the Golden Leopard for Best Short Film at Locarno Film Festival, Switzerland 2002.
A year later, Khoa commenced voluntary work with disadvantaged kids at Cabramatta’s Open Family Youth Social Services Centre. When he was asked to teach film-making to these ‘at risk’ youths, Khoa saw no better way to teach them than to make a film with them. They developed a script based partially on their own experiences, with all the major cast members being first time actors. The film, titled The Finished People, premiered at the Montreal Film Festival 2003 and was released by Dendy Cinemas.
Do was named the 2005 Young Australian of the Year for his “leadership, compassion, and will to inspire and inform Australians on issues that affect our communities.”
Khoa believes that; “In every obstacle, lies an extraordinary opportunity … and that our goal is to help others realise their true potential.”
