Ten days, 70 films and almost as many nationalities: it can only be the Phnom Penh Imternational Film Festival, a visual feast celebrating feature films, documentaries and short films by independent filmmakers from all over the world ($2 per screening session, all-access pass $20). Ladies and gentlemen of the audience, allow us to introduce The Advisor’s ultimate guide to PPIFF 2014,
FRIDAY 12
@ Meta House, #37 Sothearos Boulevard:
7:30pm: Opening receptio
8pm: Scars Of Cambodia
It’s 5am. We’re at a small fish market in Cambodia. We follow Tut, a 50-year-old fisherman, on his way back to his house.Tut changes clothes, smokes a cigarette, absent. Then he writes, using the water on his wooden terrace, the date he was imprisoned by the Khmer Rouge régime. Tut was 15. Among daily life scenes, he mimes the tortures he underwent. Directed by Alexandre Liebert (France).
8.45pm: Imagine
A paramedic lives under a cloud of guilt after failing to prevent his daughter from drowning. In an experiment, he revisits her in a dreamlike world. Through this healing process, memories once filled with guilt begin to speak truth – and the paramedic becomes convinced he has the ability to change the past. Directed by Jonathan Steven Green and Jahanara Saleh (US).
9.30pm: Sayang Disayang (‘My Beloved Dearest’) A live-in nurse working for a bitter old man tries to cook a dish exactly like the one by the man’s late wife, but success eludes her. Despite this, she sings all day in the kitchen, which serves only to irritate her employer further. What is the elusive ingredient that can unlock the tension between them, remedy their damaged hearts and help them live in harmony? Directed by Sanif Olek (Singapore).
SEPTEMBER 13 – 21
@ The Flicks1, #39b St. 95; The Flicks2, #90 St. 136, and The Flicks3,#8 St. 258:
SATURDAY 13
2pm: Short Films Session:
Legend Of The Chained Oak: When a local writer begins to investigate a mysterious chained oak, the chance find of a 17th-century journal throws a new and terrifying light on a popular legend. Accounts of human sacrifice, witchcraft and warnings of a curse litter the tattered pages. As he digs deeper, a series of chilling events suggest the horrifying claims made in the book may hold an element of truth. Directed by Mark Mooney and George Watts (UK).
The Wrong: Students, having violated school rules by smoking, go on a ‘voluntary service’ trip. Sang-hee encounters a sensitive problem while helping a disabled girl and is ridiculed by his teacher and friends. Directed by Taegue Lim (Republic of Korea).
Silent Spring: Fifteen-year-old Tina lives in an orphanage where she’s treated harshly. One day, the kids are taken to the theatre. Watching the play, Tina decides to run away and meets a lady who introduces her to a whole new world. Directed by Antoine Nassif (Lebanon).
Cryo: When a journey to another planet goes horribly wrong mid-flight, an engineer finds herself fighting to ensure the future of mankind. Directed by Luke Doolan (Australia).
Buy 1 Get 1 Free: Conscience-free enterprise The Only Group sells tainted food and runs dialysis centres where patients watch 24-hour news while eating tainted lollipops, but will the authorities take action? Directed by Chia-Ho Tai (Taiwan).
Shadow Tree: When a Zanzibari boy finds a fish in muddy water, the challenge of keeping it alive pushes him in an unexpected direction. Directed by Biju Viswanath (Tanzania).
4pm: Past Their Prime
A look at the world of geriatric zoo animal care, through Colo – the oldest living gorilla in captivity – on her 55th birthday. Directed by Becca Friedman (US).
Just Play
A film about the men and women working with Al Kamandjati, a Palestinian cultural association conducting a music education programmein the West Bank, and their difficulties transforming music into a means of freedom and liberation. Directed by Dimitri Chimenti (Italy).
6pm: Dear Courtney
Driven by his unrequited love for the most popular girl in school, Paul Thomas writes the song of his life. The song doesn’t help him with his beloved, but it does seempromising enough to send to the world’s leading record companies – and hes shocked when he discovers his song a few months later on the albumNevermind, by Nirvana. Directed by Rolf Roring (Germany).
8pm: Sayang Disayang (‘My Beloved Dearest’)
SUNDAY 14
2pm: Truká: In The Name Of TheEnchanteds
A documentary about the Truká people, who live on the São Francisco River in the north-east of Brazil. Their story is that of indigenous people the world over: a story of colonisation and oppression, but also of resistance and courage. Directed by Thomas Toivonen (Sweden).
Just Play
4pm: Imagine
Caroline Of Virginia
A fairytale about the things we take forgranted. After a deaf woman befriends a musician, she wakes up the following morning to find her hearing restored. It seems a blessing, but the gift is only temporary and it’s all at the musician’s expense. Directed by Eric Norcross (US).
Ripple
He has a dead-end job. He has a dead-end life. He has a dead body, stuffed in his refrigerator. A man finds purpose in his life while attempting to cover up an accidental murder. Directed by Christian Everhard (US).
6pm: Short Films Session:
Bucket: After a devastating discovery, a young man contemplates suicide before an abandoned baby catches his eye. Faced with taking care of it until the police arrive, he recruits his former best friend, but things are far from simple. Directed by Gabriel Robertson (UK).
Look At Me: Marcos, a workaholic, is forced to the countryside for a family celebration. After an incident on the road, he seeks refuge in an abandoned house, but witnesses strange events that suggest he is not alone. Directed by Nicolas Fernández (Argentina).
Ego Zombie: A girl is restless over the loss of a friendship, but an apology doesn’t seem possible. Directed by James Stallworth (Germany).
One Way Or Another: Ari is a Kurdish writer who lives in London having left behind his wife and son in the war. Writing his novelette, he’s nervous, deleting most of the events in his life. Directed by Naz Salih (UK).
Crippen: The name Dr Crippen still resonates, more than 100 years after his wife’s murder became an international sensation. Directed by Stephan Parent (Canada).
Recommended Reading: When you’re tongue-tied over a pretty girl, it helps to have timeless authors spell it out for her. Directed by Kenny Rigsby and Justin Reese (US).
No Bread: Luis, 72, owns a small grocery store that suffers a downturn when a supermarket sets up in its neighbourhood. Directed by Macarena Monros (Chile).
Spring Has Passed By: The winds of change have passed by and were called the Arab Spring. He’s a man swept by those winds that took all that was dear, leaving him with only remnants imprinted on his soul. Directed by Eva Daoud (Bahrain).
8pm: Koan Of Spring
Master Truong is nearing the end of his life, but has yet to find his emperor’s successor – and the country is preparing for war. Furious, the emperor gives Truong two weeks to find one so he visits a famous general who disappeared to become a simple fisherman with his two children. Truong has finally found the right successor, or has he? Directed by Lou Ma Ho (Republic of Korea).
MONDAY 15
4.30pm: Koan Of Spring
6:30pm: Short Films Session:
Black Night: As part of a dare, a high-school student finds himself alone at night in a cemetery, searching for an ancient grave by the light of his torch. Directed by Jean Luc Baillet (France).
Silent Spring: Fifteen-year-old Tina lives in an orphanage, where she is treated harshly. One day, the kids are taken to the theatre. While watching the play, Tina decides to run away and meets a lady who introduces her to a whole new world. Directed by Antoine Nassif (Lebanon).
No Matter How Far: In an alternate present, the world is in conflict: intercontinental travel has been banned, separating millions of families. One husband and wife, separated by a hemisphere, work to reunite. Directed by Kenny Rigsby and Justin Reese (US).
The Thief And The Windchime: A thief breaks into a house and encounters an old man. Both discover there can be unexpected treasure in what is taken and what is given. Directed by Biju Viswanath (India).
My Dinner With Andrea: A lonely young man accepts a dinner invitation from the girl of his dreams, only to face the stuff of nightmares. Directed by Hernan Moreno (Canada).
The Unforgettable Pianist: A famous French pianist is about to give a concert when strange events start to happen, suggesting he has a serious problem. Directed by Josep Antoni Ribas Rossello (Spain).
Cockatoo: A man with a broken heart tries to relive his failed relationship by hiring a young actress to play his ex-girlfriend. If only she could get the accent right. Directed by Matthew Jenkin (Australia).
Fly On Out: Follows 11-year-old Dayvon after he rescues a caged pigeon from two older boys on a Brooklyn rooftop. Pursued by the boys, Dayvon must weave his way through the diverse streets of Bed-Stuy Brooklyn, passing by true-to-life neighbourhood characters. Directed by Robert Kolodny (US).
8.30pm: Sodium Party
Follows Claire through a harrowing childhood to university, where she meets a frequently intoxicated photographer who exposes her to real life through a cocktail of love and drugs. Directed by Michael McCudden (Ireland).
TUESDAY 16
4.30pm: Anni Felici (‘Those Happy Years’)
A narcissistic artist finds his world turned upside-down in the wake of a disastrous exhibition and his previously devoted wife’s extramarital inclinations. Directed by Daniele Luchetti (Italy).
6.30pm: Short Films Session:
Lotus: A wounded soldier is saved by the goddess of nature and the two fall in love, but soon encounter a dilemma between love and responsibility. Directed by Rose ‘Rong’Luo (Canada).
Shame And Glasses: Mirko faces his worst fear: wearing glasses, the only way to do his school test, but what if the girl he is secretly in love with sees him? Directed by Alessandro Riconda (Italy).
Byoyancy: Hoping to turn his life around, Jake suddenly finds himself in a dangerous situation. An ageing bail-bondsman offers help, but what ensues is a complicated mix of secrets and lies that threatens to destroy the life of one man and the soul of another. Directed by Ryan Surratt (US).
God By The Neck: It’s Sunday and Pablo, eight, has an invitation to a very special but forbidden birthday party. It’s Sunday and, for the first time, Pablo is going door-to-door preaching with his mother. Directed by José Trigueiros (Spain).
Double Occupancy: Two men share a hospital room, in which the window is the only connection to the outside world. Directed by Fabian Giessler (Germany).
The Last American Shoemaker: An Ecuadorian immigrant who has served his community as a cobbler for 40 years faces the challenges of globalisation. Directed by Joseph Anthony Eulo (US).
The Cell: On the day of a terrorist attack in London, five strangers receive the same text message: ‘At 9pm we flip the switch.’ All have experienced loss and have reasons to hate, but why are they planning the attack? Directed by Ben Hyland (UK).
Sugar: A woman in a Parisian café sees someone unwrapping a sugar cube and remembers how she collected them at home in Sarajevo, but then the war began. Directed by Oliver Langewitz (Germany).
The Story Of Happy: One day, a kid named Happy is given a mission by his boss: deliver some marijuana. Directed by Ronaldo S Vivo Jr (Philippines).
8.30pm: Naseman (‘The Snuggle’)
Amon Ghoshal is a sensitive young Bengali boy from a family of farmers. In Kolkata to pursue a PhD in Nanoparticles, his real ambition is to travel the world on foot. When he meets a Pakistani girl, the pair fall in love. Everything seems perfect, until Mumbai comes under terrorist attack. Directed by Sounak Mukhopadhyay (India).
WEDNESDAY 17
4.30pm: Short Films Session:
Safe Room: A nuclear scientist in the 1950s is leading a team in the creation of an infinite source of energy. One day, the reactor they’re building goes haywire, creating a chain reaction that ends life on Earth as we know it. Directed by Nick Levanti (US).
Motherly: A blind mother searches for her disabled son in a park to find out if the girl he is dating is beautiful or not. Directed by Navid Nikkhah Azad (Iran).
The Real Thing: Teen comedy about a university student and his relationship with a sexy poster-girl on his wall. Directed by Yamil Julian Cure (UK).
Four-Leaf Clover: A girl questions life after being forced to marry her rapist. Directed by Hakan Berber (Turkey).
Letter To My Widow: A young man decides to give up on his wife. Directed by Jasmin Rexhepi (Iceland).
½ Sold: A brief encapsulation of a past not far removed from our present, or homage to Surrealist film and the social absurdity it rode in on. Directed by Michael Westbrook (US).
Balcony: A boy sits on the edge of a fourth-floor balcony. Terrified onlookers call for help, but the situation becomes unmanageable. Directed by Lendita Zeqiraj (Kosovo).
Unnatural: A man and a young lesbian are party friends, until their relationship turns into a one-way passion. Directed by Thor Schenker (France).
6.30pm: Driving Blind
Two brothers suffering from a rare genetic disease decide to take the road trip of a lifetime around the US, seeing everything possible before the condition robs them of their sight.Directed by Brian James Griffo (US).
8.30pm: Anni Felici (‘Those Happy Years’)
THURSDAY 18
4.30pm: Dear Courtney
6.30pm: Imagine
Caroline Of Virginia
Ripple
8.30pm: Favour
Kip’s perfect life is put in jeopardy when the waitress with whom he’s having a casual fling is accidentally killed in their motel room. Directed by Paul Osborne (US).
FRIDAY 19
4.30pm: Sayang Disayang (‘My Beloved Dearest’)
6.30pm: Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra
It was achievement enough that the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra managed to survive the darkest days of the war, when it struggled for supplies and electricity, when its members fled for safety abroad and those who remained practiced in secret for fear of offending militants who considered music un-Islamic. A study of Iraqi music culture since the orchestra formed in the 1940s. Directed by Firas Sameer (Iraq).
8.30pm: Don’t Be Tired
A Canadian couple with their own disputes face a problem in Iran with the tourism institute: a former employee of the hotel where they’re staying has plans for them. Heart-warming tale of dialogue among nations during a road trip through Iran’s rarely seen landscapes. Winner of the Audience Award at the 2013 London Iranian Film Festival.Directed by Afshin Hashemi and Mohsen Gharaie (Iran).
SATURDAY 20
2pm: Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra
4pm: Short Films Session:
Anjaan (‘The Stranger’): A wife is waiting for her husband to return home when a policeman arrives on her doorstep. She’s given the news of her husband’s death and invites him inside for dinner, where conversation leads to something more. Directed by Hira Tariq (Pakistan).
7 Minutes: Marc and Ginny are determined to handle their break-up like civilised adults, but their adolescence emerges when a party game forces them into a closet to confront their mutual hatred and sexual tension. Directed by Carlos Michael Hagene (US).
Singular: Awakening ain’t easy when it depends solely on you. Small things become great feats: breathing, walking, smiling. A film about loneliness after a break-up. Directed by Pol Turrents (Spain).
Little Darling: Two kids at the top of a skyscraper. A view of the sea. He is Tom Sawyer and she is Alice in Wonderland. They walk along the edge of the roof, doing everything they’re not supposed to. In that hot summer, left in the care of her grandmother, Alice will feel love for the first time. Directed by Igor Mirkovic (Croatia).
VHS – Victor Home System: Victor pirates movies on VHS for a criminal organisation, but risks selling tapes out of the loop… until he meets his neighbour, who questions his lifestyle. Directed by Lucas Coimbra (Columbia).
Captain Sandy: A girl asks for help from her parents to find the start button on her toy spaceship to go to the Moon. Directed by Eren Ozsan (US).
Shortcut: A Jewish insurance salesman in the middle of nowhere gets a lift from an Iraqi Muslim. Their journey reveals cooperation despite their cultural conflicts. Based on Anton Chekhov’s Overseasoned. Directed by Awat Namiq Agha (UK).
Boonrerm: Boonrerm is a housemaid who every day receives weird orders. Directed by SorayosPrapapan (Thailand).
6pm: Ainu, Pathways To Memory
A documentary about the Ainu people in Japan, erased from history books and scarred by discrimination. Directed by Marcos P Centeno (Spain).
8pm: Aramnesia
A man wakes up on the floor of an apartment, with no memory, to discover he’s being chased. Directed by Eleutherios Kakathimis (Cyprus).
SUNDAY 21
2pm: Short Films Session:
Legend Of The Chained Oak
The Wrong
Silent Spring
Cryo
Buy 1 Get 1 Free
Shadow Tree
4pm: Short Films Session:
Way In Rye: A Soviet farmer and his wife must protect a crate evacuated from Leningrad while awaiting news from their son fighting on the front. Directed by Goran Stankovic (US).
Remember? Léo and Victor share memories, and the choices that led them to this last confrontation. More than a discussion between friends, the movie transports us to a crucial time in French history. Directed by Virginie Schwartz (France).
Last Penalty: The penalty kicker is about to kick the last goal. All the memories, emotions and important decisions in his life come to mind, bringing the story to an unexpected end. Directed by Max Miecchi (Italy).
Mouth Wide Open, Ears Shut Tight: A day in the life of a silent, lonely young woman with her friend, the fish. The silence is broken when a new tenant moves into the apartment next door and she finds herself falling in love.Directed by Tom Madar and Emily Noy (Israel).
Time Traveller: Experimental video examining existential themes such as facticity, alienation and the importance of choice in life. Directed by RomanePetiot (Cambodia).
6pm: Short Films Session:
Safe Room
Mother
The Real Thing
Four-Leaf Clover
Letter To My Widow
½ Sold
Balcony
Unnatural
8pm: Reflection Of Maya Rose
Fortune turns for young actress Maya Rose when she auditions for a screenplay, The Reflection And The Mirror. It tells the story of Ava and Scott, lovers trying to transcend time and space by means of a mirror. Maya is mesmerised by Ava’s character, but the audition sets off strange occurrences that lure her into an unfamiliar world. Paranoia drives her to the edge of sanity. “Reflections Of Maya Rose is a film that celebrates curiosity and the mysterious beauty of the unknown and the ambiguous”, says director Alexandra Wedenig (US). Winner of the Golden Lion Award at the Barcelona Film Festival in Spain.