Lights, Camera, Phnom Penh

The Story of Cambodia's Contemporary Film Industry

The Golden Age of Khmer Cinema

Between 1960 and 1975, the film industry of Cambodia developed rapidly, with 350 films being produced and screened across the entire country. Due to the public's interest in early Cambodian films, as well as their commercial success, this encouraged more businesses to start making films. Ly Bun Yim, for example, used the earnings from the sale of his family pharmacy to purchase a film and movie camera during a trip to Hong Kong. After shooting a few rolls to test lighting and camera movement, he put an announcement in front of his house there and then invited amateur actors to act in his first film, រន្ទះគ្រួសារ (Family Thunderbolt). This film told the story of a family upheaval, which was narrated at each performance by a man and a woman who controlled a taped music track and lowered it when it was time to read the dialogue as there was no soundtrack. The equipment to make sounds wasn’t available in the country, and dialogue had to be dubbed during the screening.  

With storyline, characters, and setting often depict the Khmer legends and folktales such as witches, thunder, and giants (យក្ស) to familial struggles. These stories are well-known, nostalgic, and appealing to people of all ages and backgrounds, and the public expressed strong desires to see the fantastic and supernatural elements of these stories come to life on the big screen. With few people owning televisions back then, going to cinemas became a popular pastime for all Cambodians. There were about 30 cinemas in the capital, and Hong Saovandy, a government official working at the Ministry of Transportation, complained how “It was so stuffy in the cinemas because there were a lot of people and only a few fans. The seats and the people in the cinema were often very smelly” however the audience was attuned and engaged with what’s happening open laughing, shouting, and both men and women crying on a sad scene. If there’s an actor who plays a mean character, the attendees would react vocally, expressing backlash to a screen. On the other hand, in the province, Lay Sovan, a businessman from Takeo province, mentioned that movies were screened not only in the cinemas but also in pagodas during the village ceremony. “When people went to watch movies at the pagoda, they always brought a mat to spread out on the ground and watched until midnight under the stars.” It is evident that going to the cinemas wasn’t only about looking at the movie; it was a cherished community event where people left their houses to go out and have fun.

The public's interest in early Cambodian films, as well as their commercial success, encouraged more people to start making their films. Ly Bun Yim, for example, used the earnings from the sale of his family pharmacy to purchase a film and movie camera during a trip to Hong Kong. After shooting a few rolls to test lighting and camera movement, he put an announcement in front of his house inviting amateur actors to act in his first film, រន្ទះគ្រួសារ (Family Thunderbolt). This film told the story of a family upheaval, which was narrated at each performance by a man and a woman who controlled a taped music track and lowered it when it was time to read the dialogue.

Directed by: His Majesty Norodom Sihanouk

Our king, លោកព្រះបិតា, not only led Cambodia into independence in 1953 from French Colonial Power but was also a prolific filmmaker, creating nearly 50 fiction & documentary films. Sihanouk viewed film and cinematography as a way to bridge the socio-cultural divide and to improve the international view of Cambodia, contrasting it with films such as Lord Jin by Richard Brookes (1964), which depicted Cambodia as an underdeveloped country. The king often composed songs for his films and acted in his own projects. One of his most notable films Le Petit Prince  (The Little Prince) which started his son and the current Cambodian king, Norodom Sihamony. In the late 1960s, Phnom Penh hosted a series of film festivals that catapulted Khmer cinema into international stardom and led Sihanouk to win the Golden Apsara Award during the first national film festival at Preah Suramarit National Theater in September 1969. Sihanouk made a notable effort to improve the film industry and the quality of Cambodian filmmaking as in the late 1940s, he sent students abroad to France to learn filmmaking. Additionally, by the 1960s he help filmmakers work more profitably he lowering the tax for Khmer film. Even after he was ousted from his position by the 1970 Cambodian coup d'état, he continued to diligently work on his film during his exile in North Korea and China. After 13 years in exile, he returned back to Cambodia in 1991 and continued making films for the country again. However in February 2010, he posted a statement saying he would stop all film productions. 2 years later, on October 15, 2012, he passed away after a heart attack in Beijing aged 89.

The Pol Pot Regime 

During the 1970s, urban society was increasingly disrupted by the war in Vietnam and the encroaching civil war within Cambodia itself. As the Khmer Rouge drew closer, tensions rose with the influx of Vietnamese refugees into Phnom Penh. Although budget and travel constraints made filmmaking difficult, production continued, possibly because Khmer films provided an escape from the increasingly harsh realities of daily life. Producers would fly to Battambang or Kampot to shoot multiple films in a single trip, while others retreated to studios to film legends and traditional stories without stepping outside.

In 1973-1974, the government threatened to close all entertainment establishments, deeming them inappropriate for wartime and a site of tragedy for Khmer Rouge grenade attacks aimed at unsettling the urban population and driving people to the countryside. They contended that closing theaters would end social life and capitulate to Khmer Rouge propaganda. As recalled by Reach Sambath, the Chief of the Public Affair Section of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, “In 1977, during the Khmer Rouge era, I watched my first propaganda film featuring Comrade Cham Yeoun Kuy and Pol Pot. I was injured, so my friends carried me six kilometers to see it. After the regime fell, most films in Cambodia were from socialist countries. but many still feared going to the cinema due to potential bomb attacks from remaining Khmer Rouge soldiers that still tried to create chaos in the country.” It wasn't until late 1975 to early 1976 that movie theater owners began to close their doors. The audience could no longer gather, as the war had become too close, and the general public was too afraid to go out for entertainment.

When the Khmer Rouge came to power in 1975, it marked the end of the previously thriving film industry in Cambodia. Many actors and directors had to desperately flee the country, and the remaining ones were murdered during the bloody dictatorship that lasted over four years. Records from the terrible past of 78 documentaries from the Pol Pot regime still exist today. Through their alliance with China, they produce crude propaganda films showing scenes of undefeated workers working tirelessly in the factories and in the rice fields, party meetings, and other political events. Additionally, for the purpose of propaganda, the Khmer Rouge also filmed reenactments of their battles with the Lon Nol army and other military victories. Then these films are brought to the official visit by other heads of state coming to Cambodia or the Khmer Rouge Leaders going abroad.

From the Golden Age of Khmer Cinema to the Dark Age

but there is hope

The country once had a thriving film industry during the Golden Age of Khmer Cinema could compete with foreign films both in terms of popularity and quality. However, after the Pol Pot massacre, Cambodians no longer supported local films as they used to due to the low quality of contemporary films being low budgets.  

The decline of the film industry began in 1993, primarily because most local films were poorly made and there was competition. Nearly every local TV channel began to show Thai movies, significantly influencing Cambodian viewers’ tastes. A lot of people, both in cities and the countryside, became big fans of Thai films. 

Svay Socheata, a movie actress and former director and producer, believes Cambodian films have been improving but are still not comparable to the films of the past. In the “Golden Age of Khmer Cinema,” local films were well-supported by audiences and often earned substantial revenue. Ms. Svay cites the lack of professionalism as a key reason for the industry's decline: “In our country, we don’t have a film school, so we are lacking both professional directors and actors,” she says. “I hope that we will have a professional institute to teach people sometime in the future.”

Amid these challenges, some filmmakers continue to create impactful narratives. A prime example is, Poan Phoung Bopha, Cambodia’s most successful woman filmmaker. As a result, I am what I am today,” she shares. As a journalist, novelist, scriptwriter, and director, she tackles socially relevant topics in films like Toek Chet Mday (Mother’s Heart), Toek Chet Oa Puk (Father’s Heart), and Knhom Chea Nak Na (Who am I?), which are among the most successful Cambodian movies in recent years.

Bopha's work exemplifies a larger movement within the industry. As contemporary filmmakers start to rediscover Khmer storytelling and cinema, they are slowly starting to awaken the silenced narrative, reclaiming a culture suppressed during the regime and breathing life into the stories that once defined a nation.

MLA Citations: 

“ប្រវត្តិភាពយន្តនៅកម្ពុជា – the History of Cinema in Cambodia.” កេរដំណែលខ្មែរ​-KDNK, 5 Dec. 2011, kerdomnelkhmer.wordpress.com/

Pssat. The Movement of Restoring Film Industry in Cambodia by Teng Athipanha – Pusat Studi Sosial Asia Tenggara Universitas Gadjah Mada. pssat.ugm.ac.id/the-movement-of-restoring-film-industry-in-cambodia-by-teng-athipanha.

“Kon the Cinema of Cambodia.” Southeastasiancinema, southeastasiancinema.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/kon-the-cinema-of-cambodia.pdf.