The first fully Singapore funded film came in 1991's "Medium Rare", which was based on a real-life local cult killer, Adrian Lim, who was hanged in 1988 for murder. Although it cost over S$2 million in production, the film performed dismally at the box office. The film took in merely S$130,000 locally but broke the ice for the next coming Singapore movie, "Bugis Street", which was released in 1995. "Bugis Street" was a gaudy film about the famous sleazy district where transvestites and transsexuals were found. Both Medium Rare and Bugis Street were directed by non Singaporeans. The same year saw the release of "Mee Pok Man", the first full-length film made by an independent Singaporean filmmaker, Eric Khoo, on a tight budget of S$100,000. Concerning a lonely noodle seller who falls for a prostitute, "Mee Pok Man" earned much critical accolade worldwide and encouraged more experimental, independent filmmaking in the nation.