- at Institut français and 10 other venues in Phnom Penh
- English / Khmer
- Free screenings
- From June 28 to July 3
The Cambodia International Film Festival (CIFF) returns after a 2-year gap!
The Institut français is once again a partner venue for the Cambodia International Film Festival, which will take place from June 28 to July 3, 2022 in 11 cinemas and hotels in Phnom Penh! The famous Cambodian festival will bring together, for six consecutive days, thousands of young Cambodians as well as foreigners from all over the world around a program of more than 160 films from 26 countries. Check out the screenings scheduled at IFC below.
Fee: Free. Tickets will be available 1h before the screening of your choosing at the designated venue.
Le Bistrot is open every evening until the last screening, with its regular Cinema Menu.
Follow the Festival live on the CIFF Facebook page.
Wednesday, June 29th
at 2:30pm
“Khmer ! Khmer ! Cambodia in Conflict” by James Gerrand (1972)
61 minutes – EN
Country: Australia
This film portrays the life, culture, history and politics of the Cambodians in the early 70’s. It focused on Norodom Sihanouk’s abdication from the throne, making him the first Democratic Leader of Cambodia, thus destroying the old feudal system, as well as the social and political destruction brought during the Vietnam War.
at 4:15pm
“The Bamboo Bridge” by Juan Francisco Salazar (2019)
65 minutes – EN
Country: Australia
Every dry season, a 1.5km bamboo bridge is built across the Mekong River, to reach the island of Koh Pen in Cambodia. Every year, the bridge is dismantled in the wake of the monsoonal tides and recycled for the following year. In 2017, it was built for the last time after the inauguration of a massive concrete bridge, funded by the government, as the country embraces Chine’s one Belt One Road initiative.
at 6:10pm
“Broken Courage” by David Peck & Nathanael Draper (2021)
75 minutes – KH/EN
Country: Canada
Broken Courage is a film about memory, history and reconciliation. It’s about how trauma has touched us all, the interconnectivity of stories and their power to heal. Meet Suon Rottana, a teenage Khmer Rouge rebel, a soldier with the Cambodian army, a prisoner of war and a landmine amputee. Suon is now a wounded man looking for redemption and reconciliation.
at 8pm
“An Apostle of Non-Violence” by Norodom Sihanouk (1997)
46 minutes – KH/EN
Country: Cambodia
An Apostle of Non-Violence is a 1997 Cambodian short feature film written, produced, and directed by King Norodom Sihanouk. Starring Khai Prasith, the film tells the story of a Buddhist monk trying to preach non-violence to opposing groups of a civil war.
Thursday, June 30th
at 10am
Making documentaries – Lessons Not Learned Over 45 Years
Australian veteran filmmaker James Gerrand and rising Cambodian filmmaker Kavich Neang discuss and share experiences, successes and failures in documentary filmmaking.
at 12:30pm
Presentation “Drone Filmmaking Fundamentals 101”
Discover the basics of drone filmmaking by Kimlong (KUDU) including input from Australian director Murray Pope, director of Angkor: The Lost Empire of Cambodia (2022)
at 2pm
A Little History of Australian Cinema : 120 years in 120 minutes
Masterclass with Richard Kuipers, festival curator, film critic, film lecturer and documentary producer.
at 4pm
“Strictly Ballroom” by Baz Luhrmann (1994)
94 minutes – EN
Country: Australia
A top ballroom dancer pairs with a plain, left-footed local girl when his maverick style earns him the disdain of his more conventionally-minded colleagues. Together, the team gives it their all and makes dreams of the National Championship title come true.
at 6pm
“The Back of Beyond” by John Heyer (1954)
66 minutes – EN
Country: Australia
In Back of Beyond, Cody Hoyt, although a brilliant cop, is an alcoholic struggling with two months of sobriety when his friend Hank Winters turns up dead in a remote mountain cabin. At first it looks like the suicide of a man who’s fallen off the wagon, but Cody knows Hank better than that.
at 7:30pm
[PREMIERE] “Coalesce” by Jesse Miceli (2020)
83 minutes – KH/EN
Countries: France, Cambodia
Songsa is sent to Phnom Penh by his family to sell clothing in a rickshaw. As for Phearum, he got into debt to buy a taxi, while Thy works in a gay club. Through this subtle fiction of the real, Jessé Miceli draws a lively portrait of a young generation struggling with a society undergoing accelerated changes.
Friday, July 1st
à 10h00
“Cambodian Indigenous Life and Culture” de réalisateurs divers (2022)
97 minutes – EN
Country: Cambodia
Cambodian territory is home to 24 ethnicities which represent 3 percent of the population living on an estimated 25 percent of the territory, mainly forested plateaux. Often living in remote areas, their daily lives and ancestral culture are little known. Tampuan, Brao, Jarai, this series focuses on understanding these tribes’ bond with natural environment in their daily lives.
at 2pm
First Short Films – Cambodia / Japan Workshop (2022)
120 minutes – KH/EN
Country: Cambodia
Discover a series of short films produced through a nine-day film-making workshop provided to semi-professional filmmakers. Co-organized by the Japan Foundation and Sunflower Film organization, with the support of the Ministry of Culture.
at 4:30pm
“Cambodi’Art” by Charly Carduner (2022)
52 minutes – KH/EN
Country: France
After a genocide that particularly targeted artists, how can arts and traditions be taught to younger generations? Journey all around Cambodia to understand the power of the arts in education in Cambodia.
at 6pm
“People Growing Wings” by Ponita Keo (2022)
“My Mother’s Tongue” by Jean-Baptiste Phou (2022)
“The Shadow of Kok Thlok” by Jeanne Pansard – Besson (2020)
“Fish market” by Jimmy Henderson (2020)
57 minutes – KH/EN
Country: Cambodia, France
at 8pm
“ESKAPE” by Neary Adeline Hay (2021)
70 minutes – KH/EN
Country: France
The refugee camp Khao-I-Dang on the border of Cambodia and Thailand was known as the “hill of death.” Hundreds of thousands of people fleeing famine or certain death under the Khmer Rouge arrived there exhausted. Among them were a mother and her baby daughter, who later found a home in France. Fourty years later, the daughter—filmmaker Neary Adeline Hay—follows the trail back in a highly personal, elegantly filmed journey through their past. She hopes to hear more details from her mother, who has kept silent all these years.
Saturday, July 2nd
at 10am
“Cambodia in Short” by various directors (2020-2022)
94 minutes – KH/EN
Countries: Cambodia, USA, Japan
The CIFF annual selection of some of the best short films made in Cambodia: Sound of Night, by Chanrado Sok et Kongkea Vann (2021), Sunrise in my Mind, by Danech San (2021), The General Khleang Moeung, by Lim Heng (2022), Candlelight, by Polen Ly (2022), Life. Love. Bliss, by Sothea Inea (2020), A Little Circus, by Yoshiro Osaka (2021), The River, by Via Noun (2020).
at 1Pm
“Film, the Living Record of Our Memory” by Ines Toharia (2021)
120 minutes – EN
Country: Spain
Why are we still able to watch moving images captured over 125 years ago? As we move ever further into the digital age, our audiovisual heritage seems to be taken increasingly for granted. However, much of our filmed history and cinema has already been lost forever. Film archivists, curators, technicians and filmmakers from around the world explain what film preservation is and why it is needed. Our protagonists are custodians of film whose work behind the scenes safeguards the survival of motion pictures. It is a task they undertake based on their closely held belief in the artistic and cultural value of the moving image, in tune with a shared mantra that a film might one day transform someone’s life. This documentary is an homage to them all and sheds some light on their critical undertaking.
at 3:15pm
“Khmer ! Khmer ! Cambodia in Conflict” by James Gerrand (1972)
61 minutes – EN
Country: Australia
This film portrays the life, culture, history and politics of the Cambodians in the early 70’s. It focused on Norodom Sihanouk’s abdication from the throne, making him the first Democratic Leader of Cambodia, thus destroying the old feudal system, as well as the social and political destruction brought during the Vietnam War.
at 5pm
“Storm Boy” by Henri Safran (1976)
88 minutes – EN
Country: Australia
Mike Kingsley, a sheltered young boy, lives in a remote coastal region of Australia with his reclusive fisherman father, Tom. When a group of hunters kills a majestic pelican and orphans its young on the beach, Mike convinces his father to let him raise the chicks to adulthood. Soon after, Mike befriends Fingerbone Bill, a wise and mysterious Aborigine who dubs the young bird-lover “Storm Boy” and offers him a few life lessons.
at 7pm
“Everything Will Be OK” by Rithy Panh (2022)
98 minutes – FR/EN
Country: Cambodia, France
Imagine that animals took power. Would they behave like humans? Would they make similar mistakes, would they fight for power, rule by terror, devour everything? What would their artworks represent? Would the planet be more at peace?
Sunday, July 3rd
10am
Cartoons of the World for kids, by various directors (2020-2021)
88 minutes
Countries: Netherlands, Korea, India, Indonesia, Australia, Serbia, Turkey, Argentina, China, Macau, Germany, Philippines, Russia
at 2pm
“The Plastic House” by Allison Chhorn (2020)
“Missing” by Allison Chhorn (2021)
“Blind Body” by Allison Chhorn (2021)
67 minutes – KH/EN
Country: Australia
at 4pm
“People Growing Wings” by Ponita Keo (2022)
“My Mother’s Tongue” by Jean-Baptiste Phou (2022)
“The Shadow of Kok Thlok” by Jeanne Pansard – Besson (2020)
“Fish market” by Jimmy Henderson (2020)
57 minutes – KH/EN
Country: Cambodia, France
