Film

A Cambodian Spring

A Cambodian Spring is a documentary by Chris Kelly about three people caught up in Cambodia's land-rights protests.[1][2] It was shot over six years[2] and won Best Documentary at the 2017 Cambodia Town Film Festival.[1]

Synopsis

The film follows residents of the Boeung Kak lake area of Phnom Penh who opposed a development plan for the lake.[3] Under the plan the lake was to be filled for development, and the families living around it faced eviction.[4] The housing activists Toul Srey Pov and Tep Vanny and the Buddhist monk Venerable Loun Sovath are the film's three central figures.[4][5] The film follows the land-rights protests that built up to the "Cambodian Spring," which began in 2013, and what came after.[5]

Production and credits

Kelly directed, produced and filmed the documentary in Cambodia.[6][2] Edwina Forkin and Christopher Hird were executive producers.[6] The film was produced through Dartmouth Films, EyeSteelFilm, Little Ease Films and Zanzibar Films.[1] It is in Khmer and runs 121 minutes.[7] Kelly calls it a deeply personal film that took nine years to complete.[8]

Release and reception

Its makers date its world premiere to the Hot Docs festival in Toronto in May 2017.[8] It won a Special Jury Prize for an international documentary there.[8][1] Later that year it won the Best Documentary award at the Cambodia Town Film Festival.[1]

It opened in cinemas in Ireland on May 4, 2018, and in the United Kingdom on May 18, 2018.[9][10] The film was a SIMA Awards finalist in 2018.[7] It was a 2019 BAFTA nominee in the Outstanding Debut category for a British writer, director or producer.[2][1] In Time Out, Phil de Semlyen found that, despite its grim findings, the film carries a strong sense of possibility.[4][6]

References 10
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 EyeSteelFilm, A Cambodian Spring
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 The Irish News, Northern Ireland man behind documentary A Cambodian Spring nominated for Bafta (January 10, 2019)
  3. ↑ Little White Lies, Eve Watling, A Cambodian Spring (May 14, 2018)
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Time Out, Phil de Semlyen, A Cambodian Spring (May 9, 2018)
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Dartmouth Films, A Cambodian Spring
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Rotten Tomatoes, A Cambodian Spring
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 SIMA Studios, A CAMBODIAN SPRING
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 A Cambodian Spring, About
  9. ↑ Amnesty International Ireland, A Cambodian Spring (April 25, 2018)
  10. ↑ Coyote PR, A Cambodian Spring is coming (March 19, 2018)
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This page was last edited on 22 October 2026, at 01:35.