Cambodian Film Seeks Oscar Glory
A short film by Cambodian writer and director Polen Ly has qualified as an Oscar contender after winning four international film awards and taking part in more than 30 theater competitions. Photo provided
- By Po Sakun
- December 16, 2022 11:50 AM
PHNOM PENH – A short film by Cambodian writer and director Polen Ly has qualified as an Oscar contender after winning four international film awards and taking part in more than 30 theater competitions.
“Further and Further Away,” shot with non-professional actors and crew, took a Best Performance award in Singapore and Best Live-Action Short Over 15 Minutes prize in the US.
The US award at the Palm Springs International Shortfest 2022 made the film eligible to enter next year’s Oscars competition.
The story starts with an indigenous boy and his sister who want to leave their hometown in Kbal Ro Meas commune in Stung Treng province to work Phnom Penh.
The girl feels sad to leave her life surrounded by nature and full of childhood memories. Wishing to see her home for the last time, she asks her older brother to visit their old village that had been destroyed by flooding due to a dam construction. The boy, however, does not go with her.
Nevertheless, she goes alone by boat across the flooded forest. The hometown full of hope, joy, and memories has become a silent abandoned village, with nearly 100 empty houses. The ruined trees, bedding, roofs, yards and things she used to play with are painful to see.
Indirectly, the story tells of the fate, sadness and problems of the indigenous people in the village and of other or minority groups facing similar problems.
Polen Ly said he did not intend to attack anyone. He only wanted audiences to analyze things by themselves after watching the film.
Polen, the only child in his Kandal province family, said there was no direct message about the dam construction which affected the lives and livelihood of minority groups but he wanted to say that development should only be done with considerations about all aspects, especially people.
“Development projects that do not include people’s opinions affect a lot of things, particularly people’s psychology, and psychological problems are extremely harmful,” he said.
“The people forcefully left the hometown because they thought protests would not do any good.
“I admit that development helps a country but project initiators should listen to those people affected.”
Polen said he too had been through hardships and wanted to convey the values of the properties that were full of memories of the people who used them.
“The girl saw her childhood things at her old home, making her sad with a lump in her throat. Poor people don’t have much to play with, so having something makes them love and want to look after it regardless of the price,” Polen said.
The story starts with an indigenous boy and his sister who want to leave their hometown in Kbal Ro Meas commune in Stung Treng province to work Phnom Penh. Photo provided
Non-professionals produce a better outcome
The film was made by a group of indigenous people who lived in the area.
In May, 2021, Polen was the first to visit the site where the film is set. However, shooting was due to start on the day the capital was locked down, hindering the cast and crew’s ability to get there.
Polen decided to make the film without waiting for his team. He selected young people there. Only one had training on audio recording while the others did not know much about making films.
Before shooting, Polen taught selected people for a short time. The film was made based on the team’s hard work without complaining.
“I only taught them the basics of making the film,” he said. “They are young, but they are very active and creative.
“I didn’t know if they could relate to the story but they acted very well as if it was their own life story. I am so proud of this film.”
The competition journey
The 24-minute film had its first showing at the Berlin International Film Festival 2022, a huge international event for independent films.
It also won the Air Canada Award at the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival 2022 in Canada and the “Best Short Film” award at Laceno D’oro 2022 in Italy.
Originally written for ThmeyThmey, this story was translated by Meng Seavmey for Cambodianess
