Over the past six months the Cambodia office of the Handa Center, in collaboration with Khmer Mekong Films and with generous support from the British Embassy in Phnom Penh and East-West Center, has worked with four talented young Cambodian filmmakers to produce their first films through the Legacy Film Lab. The competition was launched in July 2017 and encouraged young Cambodian first-time filmmakers to produce a 10-minute film in some way reflecting on the recent history of Cambodia.
The four filmmakers who took part in the film lab were:
Prum Sreileak Svay Limeng Sor Virakdara Seng Reaksmey
The four young filmmakers produced four 10-minute films with their own take on the past. In Pieces of Glass, a granddaughter deals with struggles with her family’s reluctance to talk about the past. Short Hair Woman explores a dispute between siblings on whether to share the personal diary of their mother who lived through the Khmer Rouge period. In the only documentary of the film lab – The Healing – Sor Virakdara presents the true story of his uncle through the eyes of his mother. Finally, Unforgettable shows students asking questions of their law professor on what inspired him to become a Civil Party lawyer at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia.
The four films were launched at the Chaktomuk Theater as part of the Chaktomuk Short Film Festival on 28 October 2017. Since then they have been screened at the Royal University in Phnom Penh, Meta House, Kampot Readers and Writers’ Festival and the Kravan Hotel. All four films are in Khmer with English subtitles and are now available to watch online at this address.
Khmer Rouge Trial Monitor 