[Stephanie's voice] It's 1960s Cambodia.

Phnom Penh is a hip, sophisticated city.

Cambodian rock n roll pumps through the streets.

Cinema thrives.

Architecture is innovative.

In this golden age of Cambodia, Ancient Khmer culture is celebrated, through theater, fine arts and dance.

From the 800s to the 1400s, Cambodia was the epicenter of the Khmer Empire, a mighty hydraulic civilization ruling over what is now Thailand, Vietnam and Laos.

There were upwards of maybe 1 million people.

It was an incredibly artistic civilization, most known for Angkor Wat, the largest religious building ever constructed, with exquisite reliefs and carvings, including the celebrated Apsaras: dancing celestial nymphs derived from Hindu mythology.

Cambodia was a French protectorate from 1863 to 1953, when King Sihanouk helped to gain their independence.

Then comes civil war.

The king is exiled, Lon Nol takes over.

And April 17th, 1975.

The Khmer Rouge, a communist influenced guerrilla group led by Brother Number One, or Pol Pot, marched into Phnom Penh to “liberate” the city.

The people Phnom Penh are told they must evacuate, taking only what they can carry.

This was their plan for “Year Zero,” to create a utopia where there are no cities, no educated elites, no artists, musicians nor filmmakers.

No banking or currency.

Just peasants and farmers and communal living.

People were marched for days and moved to the countryside, forced into work camps to farm and dig ditches.

Cultivated rice was shipped to China in exchange for weapons.

Anyone associated with Lon Nol's government was killed.

People who wore glasses were killed.

People who openly spoke French were killed.

Professors.

Doctors.

Educated people, killed.

Recognizable pop singers.

Actors.

Directors, killed.

One wonders, who was left to serve this new Cambodia?

Come 1975, cinema as we know it was gone.

The physical cinema: theaters, of which there were previously approximately 35 across Phnom Penh, were either abandoned, destroyed, bombed out, hiding refugees, or turned into torture centers.

For the lucky few filmmakers who lived, you can hear their stories in Davy Chou's documentary "Golden Slumbers," about Cambodian cinema history.

I highly recommend watching this.

One thing that strikes me about being in Cambodia and speaking to anyone over 50, is the realization that they lived.

They survived.

They're the ones we can talk to.

The filmmakers in their 30s are the children of those who did survive.

What is their responsibility to the next generation of Cambodians navigating this strange and surreal world?

♪ “Steadee█s Groove” ♪ Hi, I'm Stephanie.

I'm a 33-year-old American filmmaker, and a complete cinema nerd.

I love the oldies, the goodies, The New Waves, or Golden Age, you name it, I█m in.

On my 33rd birthday, I decided to travel the world to meet and document other filmmakers my age.

Travel with me to over 33 countries to meet the storytellers who are dynamically challenging the status quo of the world today.

Together, we will watch their films, hear their stories, engage with their cultures, and perhaps learn a little bit about life, love, cinema, history, and me!

[in Khmer] [Stephanie] Screenwriter, director and producer Sothea Ines was born and raised in Phnom Penh.

Her debut short film, "Rice," won Best Film at Tropfest Southeast Asia in 2014.

She then traveled to Los Angeles to join the LATC Global Film and Television Program, Ines█ debut feature film was "Love 2 The Power Of 4," which she wrote and directed and later developed into a TV series In 2016, Ines created her own production company, Come Together Films.

She has an interest in training the younger generation of talent, and her company has produced several films directed by filmmakers on the rise, including, "Viplas/Rachana."

In addition to her freelance work, and her work for Cambodian television, Ines is a professor of film and journalism, and has worked to train nonprofit organizations on the effective art of filmmaking.

She also has worked on music videos and documentaries with the popular Phare Ponleu Selpak Circus.

[Ines] I grew up in this slum area.

It's every day there.

It's a livelihood there.

You wake up, you breathe the air around it.

I don't see anything different.

Now I'm living the same way as them and all that.

But after, being in the storytelling industry, You start to see, like, Oh I had such an amazing neighborhood, where there's different types of people living there, and they're so rich.

Rich in terms of story.

There are people are looking at poor people as sad, unfortunate.

“What a life.” Right?

But as a person who grew up there, I see there█s happiness there.

There█s love.

There's laughter.

But when I see, a lot of films that do that it's like, “oh, yeah,” That's very sad.

[Stephanie█s voice] Just a few months before I met Ines, Ines moved out of the family home she grew up in and into a new apartment that she owns in the city.

Taking control of her own independent lifestyle.

One of the most welcoming countries in the world, the Kingdom of Cambodia has an extremely young population of about 17 million, with an age median around 26 years old.

[Kids in parade cheer.]

Bordered by Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and the Gulf of Thailand, Cambodia is around the size of Oklahoma, or one third that of France.

The majority of the population is ethnically Khmer, also the name of their language.

And the country is mostly Theravada Buddhist.

[Ines] How did I first fall in love with cinema?

It's, quite, accidental, actually, because, two British writers came to Cambodia to do a workshop on writing.

And I'm like, oh, that's a great chance to learn English.

So, yes, why not?

They█re native.

So, I went in for that workshop for writing.

And then, the very first time that I fell in love was... it was when a script that I wrote was filmed, and then the motion picture coming out!

So it's like, that's... Yeah, that's what I imagined!

Or, that█s really close to what I see.

It's like a baby coming out.

So it was really exciting for me.

[Stephanie's voice] I arrived to Cambodia flying in to Phnom Penh.

Flying over this capital city, I'm in awe of the networks of rivers, where the Bekong and Mekong rivers flow into the Tonle Sap, a big lake in the center of the country, considered the heartbeat of Cambodia.

The present day center of government, Phnom Penh, has a population of 2.4 million, and its tree lined boulevards make it a pleasant city to explore.

I walked around the old French Quarter, enjoyed the freshest of street foods, and marveled at some top destinations: the Independence Monument, the National Museum, the Royal Palace, Wat Phnom, the Naga Bridge, and the lesser known Chinese Temple, all while riding around in tuk-tuks and remorques.

But this is just the icing on the cake for the true reason of my visit, to delve deep into the cinema of Cambodia and meet the filmmakers, creating the New Waves today.

Ines has several short films that are reflections on the past sometimes metaphorically so, with distinct stylistic choices.

Her first short film, "Rice," is made like a true silent film, with title cards explaining the context of the action on screen.

There's a haunting score of traditional Khmer music.

The story is told from the point of view of young boys during the Khmer Rouge times.

Hungry, hiding single kernels of rice so that they can finally eat, but facing the consequences after being caught.

Another short Ines made is "Khmao Rouge," a twist of words between the Khmer Rouge, and the Khmer and French words for "black" and "red."

Set at a casino's roulette table the film is split into chapters, and with each one, another piece of the puzzle is put together.

Throughout the film, you find references to the Khmer Rouge times: the significance of having a watch, the casino girls emphasizing that they are not city girls.

Wearing eyeglasses.

Soon, the past comes back to haunt this seemingly powerful client.

For me, I feel sensitive when I speak about that film, because it's, what am I trying to say?

Am I trying to bring wars back to the people when they forgot about it?

But that's, how I felt.

When I hear the story, I mean, when I meet people, or when I see this gap in the society.

This film is made for myself.

It█s my way of coping with my unanswered parents, or society.

[Stephanie█s voice] In the three-and-a-half years during the Khmer Rouge regime, somewhere between a quarter and a third of the population was killed.

My mom's family were... she was telling me, “Oh, there was one time that, the head of the village came and said, 'Oh, tonight we're going to take you somewhere'.” And that phrase is a sign that your family will be dead, like the whole family.

She has, like, 11 siblings, and two parents, which they came from China.

And they look very different.

So the regime was “purifying” Cambodia.

So then someone who looked different was just automatically a villain?

So it was, it was like, wow, what if that night happened?

So it's such a, it made me feel like, oh, and who decides that?

Who decided to just end this family?

[Stephanie's voice] This devastating period lasted until January 7th, 1979, when a Vietnamese puppet regime retook Phnom Penh and kicked out the Khmer Rouge.

The Vietnamese ruled over Cambodia for another ten years, while the Khmer Rouge still tried to fight back.

In 1991, King Sihanouk returned from exile and the Paris Peace agreements were signed, allowing Cambodia to hold their own elections in 1993.

Hun Sen reigned over Cambodia as Prime Minister for nearly 40 years, becoming the world's longest serving Prime Minister.

In the 2023 elections, Sen was declared the winner, but instead, he transferred power to his son, the unelected Hun Manat.

As I think about my time in Cambodia and delve deeper into learning about the complex history of this country, a country which has been overtaken, and colonized, and terrorized throughout history, I wonder, how much does the preservation of memory and the desire to archive the past, influence the motivations of today's filmmakers?

[Ines] My day to day practice, always, if there's no conflict, there's no story.

When you have lost something, you feel the un-justice, and you're pursuing.

You want your justice back, or being equal, and all that.

That's all that I see as conflict.

There's story in there.

And that thing happened every day, right?

But do you think that sense of loss is heightened here in Cambodia, because of the past?

Because of what your parents█ generation went through?

I mean, anyone who's still alive lost a lot.

[Ines] Yeah, it█s definitely very heightened here, because like my dad, would say, he had ten siblings, right?

But then during Khmer Rouge days, this person, the uncle or the auntie died because of hunger.

And so those who, are in their 50█s or 60█s, they experienced this loss for nothing.

For that loss is for nothing.

[Stephanie's voice] The history of Cambodian cinema begins in the 1950s.

At this time, the leading filmmaker was King Norodom Sihanouk, who at age 19, bought himself a 16 millimeter camera to shoot short films.

King Sihanouk's first feature length film was "Apsara."

He would go on to write, direct, produce, act in, and compose music for 9 feature films including "Joy Of Life," "Shadows Over Angkor," "Twilight,” and "Rose of Bokor."

King Sihanouk was one of the most prolific filmmakers in all of Southeast Asia.

He saw filmmaking as a key to nation building, and he wanted to celebrate Khmer culture and arts through storytelling.

[Stephanie] I█m personally fascinated by the fact that you have a king who was a filmmaker.

I know, right?

Me too.

He's done everything that he could.

He's in journalism, he's in film, he's in art, making music.

He's in leading the country.

Why do you think he wanted to make films?

Because he█s an artist.

I think he█s an artist.

I made my way across Phnom Penh to the Cambodia Film Commission to meet So Chandara, a 33-year-old filmmaker passionate about building up the Cambodia film industry.

For six years, Chandara also worked as Cambodia's Film Commissioner, where he facilitated and worked on at least 100 productions.

Chandara is one of the founders of the Cambodia International Film Festival, which puts on film screenings, workshops, and networking sessions, boosting up the local film community.

At Cine Hub, I sat down with Chandara and his filmmaker wife, 33-year-old Phally Ngoeum, to talk all things cinema, and their hopes and dreams for Cambodia.

Making film is a passion.

But one thing that I'm really doing now is focusing on film infrastructure development.

Film to provide or do some initiative to support to the government, that they can understand more what we need.

Or how to, if we want the government to support us, our state government to support us, we need to let them know properly what we need, and what is the benefit back to the country.

You do your own story better than a foreigner does your story [Stephanie] Phally is a filmmaker with interests in social justice documentaries.

She co-wrote the award winning feature "The Storm Makers," which follows modern day slavery through the point of view of both victim and trafficker.

And when we met, she was in post-production of a very compelling feature documentary she wrote and directed, "Double Jeopardy."

produced by Chandara, which they had the opportunity to workshop in a one-on-one with Hollywood actor, director and producer, Matt Dillon.

The most prolific time in Cambodian cinema history was the Golden Era, which lasted from around 1960 to 1975.

More than 300 films were made.

Sadly, only 33 survive today.

These movies were often influenced by Cambodian mythology and folklore.

Stories with flying horses, witches, and giants.

The most popular films of the era include "The Snake King's Wife," "12 Sisters," "Khmer After Angkor," "The Snake Hair Girl," and "The Crocodile Man."

At the end of the Khmer Rouge era, in 1979, when Rithy Panh was 15-years-old, he escaped to Thailand to a refugee camp as the only survivor in his family.

He moved to Paris, studied carpentry, and fell in love with filmmaking.

He is most known for "Rice People," which competed at Cannes and was the first Cambodian film submitted to the Oscars, followed by "One Evening After the War."

Many of Rithy Pahn's films deal with the horrors and truths and memories of life under the Khmer Rouge.

Rithy Panh has become a mentor for Cambodia's younger generations of filmmakers.

He runs workshops and apprenticeship programs and is the co-founder, along with leu Pannakar, of the esteemed Bophana Center.

Opened in 2006, the Bophana Center is an archive for film, TV, photography and sound.

I traveled to Battambang to check out Cambodia's S'Arts Urban Fest, which Ines participated in.

I loved Battambang.

It has an artsy small town feel, and I enjoyed the youthful energy of the Arts Fest, which featured mural paintings, hip hop and breakdance competitions, educational tours, workshops for kids and adults, all culminating in a colorful parade with homemade floats, performances, and circus acts.

While exploring the streets of Battambang, I had the good fortune to meet Poy Chhunly.

Chhunly is known locally as the Cambodian Manny Pacquiao for his similar looks to the famous Filipino boxer.

He is an animator and filmmaker who, when we met, was painting a colorful mural of animals and mythical creatures.

Chhunly started his own film school, while his wife, Kolab, a visual artist, has her own fine arts school.

We sat down at a hip vegetarian restaurant and chatted about their lives as filmmakers and artists in Battambang.

My feeling, my heart.

I want to see something grow up and develop.

Cambodia can be a place that people can make money and change their own life.

Maybe.

If one person from a poor family, and now they got a job and they can support their family, become rich or better in life, I think it's good.

[Stephanie] Angelina Jolie first came to Cambodia to film the Hollywood blockbuster "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider," which boosted the street cred of Angkor's Ta Prohm Temple in Siem Reap, now a very popular spot for international tourists.

Jolie returned to Cambodia to direct the film "First They Killed My Father," adapted from the novel of the same name.

A memoir written by Luong Ung about her experiences surviving as a child in Khmer Rouge times.

It's a beautiful book and the film, co-produced with Rithy Panh, does a nice job of putting us in the child's point of view.

We become as confused by the chaos of these unexplicable, horrific events, yet see it through a childlike innocence.

And at the beginning, when they came to Battambang for casting, to find someone to be acting.

So yeah, I did it so many times, and they said, “Oh not good.” “Oh not good.” I tried many times, because I'm not very good at acting.

At the end of it, though, I said, “Please choose me.” “Because I want to learn how you make films.” When I was on the set, she knew me very well.

We would talk to each other, and “OK, now you can stand here.” “No problem.” “I allow you to stand in front of [the camera monitor].

“You find a good place for you to see.

When I got my paycheck from shooting, for a few shots, and I used this money to buy a tripod and a small light.

I still have it like this, too, and a sound recording device.

And I want to tell Angelina, this is some money from the fee that I earned from joining her film.

And now my school has become bigger.

This is what I want to tell Angelina Jolie.

Cinema is like a treatment and could be like a weapon.

So it's a tool on how we utilize in a good way or in a bad way.

So it can be interpreted into anything that we want.

But, for some people, it means a lot for them, it is a healing.

It's a medicine.

It's something that they need to express.

They need to tell it, to outside world that this is what I█ve been through.

And without expecting someone will see it or not, but it█s just the act, the gesture, speaking out to get things out of the heart, out of the brain.

And then, for the Khmer Rouge, This is, to me, this is absolutely important, a film about Khmer Rouge.

We don't have it... We have enough, but we don't have a lot.

So we need to learn from the past and we don't want to move back to the real mistake that we made.

We did it 40 years ago.

We should not limit ourselves to only focus on that particular story.

Every story matters, unless, it gives a reflection to society.

For me, I see documentary as the eyes, the social eyes.

When having more stories to be told, it can help us, especially like the audience, or people in general, to reduce the bias, or, discrimination against one another.

Ines is part of the generation of Khmer filmmakers forming the Cambodian New Wave.

Leading this new wave are the filmmakers who are part of the filmmaking collective and production company, Anti-Archive.

Founded in 2014 by Davy Chou, Steve Chen and Kavich Neang, whose film, "White Building," was awarded Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival and was Cambodia's submission to the 2022 Oscars.

Making a film.

It's a way to really understand, you know, who you are, actually.

And also to be able to express that kind of a voice that you might not be able to speak, but may be something that you could share that you know.

Tell me, what does it mean to you to be 33, in Cambodia today?

That's the best time I live now.

Because I can appreciate the little things and take it slow sometimes.

Thinking back to five, ten years ago, I was like, so in a rush somewhere.

Right now I can take it slow.

I can, breathe more.

Enjoy what I have more.

So it's a good time.

[Stephanie█s voice] The filmmakers of Cambodia in their 30s, including Ines, Chandara and Phally, Chunnly, and Kolab, Kavich and the other New Wave filmmakers of Anti-Archive, are a key generation for Cambodia's transition from Pol Pot to the future.

These artists and filmmakers hold the responsibility to keep seeking out and recording the truth before it is forgotten by younger generations.

To learn more about the Cinema Nomad filmmakers, and dive deeper into the exciting world of global cinema, visit our website: CinemaNomad.TV