Anti-Archive

Anti-Archive is a Cambodian film production company founded in 2014 to make fiction and documentary films by the emerging, new generation of Cambodian filmmakers. The collaborative spirit runs through all their work, where one filmmaker might take on an acting role in a production, or work as camera operator or producer instead.

Deliberately provocative, the name Anti-Archive invites one to rethink the relationship of films and filmmakers with the past and history. This is a new generation of Cambodian filmmakers, born after the Khmer Rouge and civil war, who have strived to develop their own styles and stories without relying on the typical depictions of Cambodia. As self-taught filmmakers much of what they know about cinema has come from watching films from around the world, which has led to an interesting synthesis of their own interests and ideas with the techniques or rhythms of other cinemas of the world, resulting in expertly crafted and refreshingly diverse productions.

The films produced and co-produced by Anti-Archive have premiered and received awards at festivals around the world, including Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Locarno, Busan, Rotterdam, and Torino.

Founding member Kavich Neang will join the screening to talk more about Anti-Archive films and their working methods, about the challenges and opportunities which arise in a young cinema industry and how Anti-Archive came together to create and develop films in a collective spirit as a result.

Screened:
SAT 26/10, 17:00 REGINA

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NEW LAND BROKEN ROAD

Phnom Penh at night. Three young hip-hop dancers drive a single motorbike and stop on a muddy deserted road. Nick leaves the others to look for an iPhone he heard was lost in the area. Piseth and Thy discuss their hopes and doubts, and Piseth shows his best Michael Jackson moves. They meet Leakhena, a young female street vendor whose cart is full of colours

Cambodia, Malaysia 2018 / 15:00 / Director: Kavich Neang

FURTHER AND FURTHER AWAY

A young indigenous Bunong woman and her older brother spend one last day in their rural village in northeastern Cambodia, before an impending move to the capital city in search of a more prosperous life. While her brother is excited for the move, she senses a quiet desire to return to their long-gone village that was lost to the development of a nearby hydroelectric dam a few years earlier.

Cambodia 2021 / 24:00 / Director: Polen Ly

CALIFORNIA DREAMING

When Sarita visits an oceanfront resort to escape her hectic life and family obligations in the city, she encounters another young woman, Sak, working at the hotel. Sak takes her to visit an old house where she too likes to get away. The two women discover a hidden bond that ties them together, allowing them to escape from their realities and experience something different.

Cambodia 2019 / 16:00 / Director: Sreylin Meas

A MILLION YEARS

A young woman relaxes at a riverfront restaurant with a friend. She recounts stories of her past experiences, finding enchantment in the flows of the river and the trees on the mountains nearby. Strangely, she enters a parallel riverfront with a stranger and they both recount stories of fear and she finds herself in a realisation of her confusion of reality.

Cambodia 2018 / 20:46 / Director: Danech San

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