Olivia Khoo is Professor of Film and Screen Studies and Head of Film, Screen and Culture in the Faculty of Arts. 

Olivia’s research focuses on streaming technologies, media diversity, and screen audiences. She is a leader in the discipline areas of Asian Australian studies and Asian cinema studies, having co-founded the Asian Australian Studies Research Network (AASRN) in 2006.

Olivia has published seven books and over 56 refereed journal articles and book chapters. She is the author of Asian Cinema: A Regional View (Edinburgh University Press, 2021), The Chinese Exotic: Modern Diasporic Femininity (Hong Kong University Press, 2007), and co-author (with Belinda Smaill and Audrey Yue) of Transnational Australian Cinema: Ethics in the Asian Diasporas (Lexington, 2013). Her essays appear in leading international journals including Screen, Feminist Media Studies, Television and New Media, GLQ, and Camera Obscura. She is a Founding Series Editor of the Gender, Sexualities and Cultures in Asia book series (Springer) and Founding Associate Editor of Studies in World Cinema: A Critical Journal (Brill).

Olivia is a current member of the Australian Research Council College of Experts (2023-2026) and the recipient of two Australian Research Council Discovery Project grants. She has held research fellowships at the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore, the University of California Humanities Research Institute, and the National Library of Australia.

From 2023-2025, Olivia was Co-Chair of the National Screen Diversity and Inclusion Network (SDIN), a network of Australian broadcasters, screen funding agencies, business associations, guilds and industry-aligned education and training organisations who have committed to working together towards a more inclusive and diverse screen industry. During her tenure as Co-Chair, the SDIN produced the Everyone Counts 2.0 report, providing updated data on diversity in the Australian screen industry. She is Lead author of the research report, Incentivising Australian Screen Media Diversity: Proposal for a Diversity Tax Offset, Grant, or Minimum Industry Standards, produced in collaboration with colleagues in the Faculty of Law (Dr Tamara Wilkinson), the Faculty of Business and Economics (Prof John Bevacqua and A/Prof Andrew Moshirnia), and the Faculty of Arts (Dr Maura Edmond) at Monash University. As a member of the Streaming Industries and Genres Network (SIGN), Olivia contributed to the report 10 Years of Netflix in Australia.

Olivia has supervised 20 PhD and MA students to successful completion and has been nominated for the Monash Graduate Association Supervisor of the Year Award three times. In 2022, she received a Special Commendation for the Dean’s Award for Postgraduate Research Supervision.

Olivia’s research and teaching are informed by her multidisciplinary background. She holds an Honours degree in English Literature from the University of Western Australia, a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) from the University of New South Wales, and a PhD in Cultural Studies from the University of Melbourne.

Film, Television and Digital Media

Screen diversity and streaming platforms

Gender, Sexuality and Media

Asian and Asian Australian cinema

Screen diversity; Streaming platforms and diversity

Asian and Asian Australian cinema

Gender, Sexuality and Media

ATS2327 Seeing Ourselves on Screen: Diversity and Representation in Film and Television

ATS3539: Asian Screen Cultures

APG5782: Film Festivals in Local and International Contexts