Sothea Strikes Gold at Movie Festival
Writer/director Ines Sothea picked up the gold award for “Life. Love. Bliss,” a story in which actors dub a movie within a movie. Photo by Niccolo Tissier
- By Nicolò Tissier
- December 21, 2022 4:15 PM
PHNOM PENH – A romantic movie shot simply in black and white has won first prize in the third Cambodian national short film festival.
Writer/director Ines Sothea picked up the gold award for “Life. Love. Bliss,” a story in which actors dub a movie within a movie.
The jury picked it after deciding to favor content and give more credit to the quality of scripts.
“I didn’t expect it as I found the other finalists’ films really good,” Sothea said. “Plus, mine was in black and white. It was technically simpler so I didn’t think it would work.”
She spoke also of the organizational difficulties making the movie.
“It was particularly difficult in COVID time when we shot the film,” “Now I will take this opportunity to continue to make films.
“I already have a new project that I would like to shoot in February,” she said. She was confident about the future of Cambodian cinema. “There are so many stories to tell.”
Three main awards were given, gold, silver and bronze, plus four special prices. The bronze medal rewarded the young amateur director Vong Pamhabon.
“I’m happy and surprised because I mainly focused on the script,” he said. “I hope I will have the opportunity to do more films.”
More than 200 people, including representatives of the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, packed the ornate Chaktomuk Conference Hall for the award ceremony on Dec. 20.
The festival was a step towards raising the film industry in Cambodia. Photo by Niccolo Tissier
The festival intends to be a forum that promotes all the different disciplines of the industry, from the director to the scriptwriters, technicians and actors.
“It is really important to help the youth enter the film industry, to help young talents becoming professionals” said Leak Lyda, a Cambodian filmmaker and jury member.
“In the absence of a national cinema school, it is through this festival that we can help them.
“The young people really want to grow, so I hope that the movie industry in Cambodia will rise up in the next five or 10 years but at one point we will need a school.”
Nepalese native Deependra Gauchan, advisor to the National Department of Cinema, pushed for the creation of the festival in 2016 to raise the quality of the films made in the country and allow young people to tell their stories through films.
“This festival has two purposes” he says. “The first one is to give a motivational goal for young people and the other is to give them economic support, through government funding, to do quality work with real means.”
He said there had been an evolution in local productions but a lot of development was needed.
“Of the 35 competitors, 90% of them were not good enough quality. They were too repetitive and mainstream.”
He sees only one solution. “We need to continue to invest more in the movie Industry”.
The festival was a step towards raising the film industry in Cambodia.
“The government needs to put up a real plan and recognize it as a sustainable industry,” he said, suggesting a fund that would unite fundings and sponsorships to concentrate the money and entrust it in experts’ hands.
“It would show the way and change everything.”
