The Roots Remain
| The Roots Remain | |
|---|---|
| Director | Jean-Sebastien Francoeur and Andrew Marchand-Boddy |
| Format | Feature |
| Film type | Documentary |
| Running time | 73 minutes |
| Screened at | Cambodia Town Film Festival |
| Subjects | Film & Moving Image |
| Creator pages | Fonki |
The Roots Remain is a documentary about the Montreal graffiti artist FONKi and his return to Cambodia to paint a mural for relatives lost in the genocide.[1] It was directed by Jean-Sebastien Francoeur and Andrew Marchand-Boddy.[2]
Synopsis
FONKi, whose name is Yavana Chhem-Kieth, grew up in Canada and narrates the film.[1] He travels to his ancestral Cambodia to reunite with his family and to meet leaders of the country's growing hip-hop community.[3] Rare 16mm archival film shows his great-grandparents coming home from Khmer Rouge labor camps, and the documentary tells of his family's heartbreak during the genocide.[3] FONKi works to carry on his great-grandfather's legacy and to inspire young Cambodians to take up street art.[3] In Phnom Penh he paints his largest mural to date, a tribute to his grandparents who disappeared during the war.[3]
The Khmer Rouge destroyed much of Cambodian culture in the 1970s and erased it from the historical record.[4] The film follows young members of the diaspora who have come back and brought hip-hop culture with them to help revive Khmer culture, and young Cambodians who reclaim their ancestors' art through new techniques and influences.[4] FONKi has said the film carries messages of resilience, family, hope and love, and that making it brought him inner peace with his family and with his country's history.[5]
Production and credits
The film combines Cambodian archival material with newly recorded footage to tell the artist's family history and show Cambodia's cultural life.[4] It was built from more than 100 hours of high-definition footage, 16mm newsreels and Khmer Rouge propaganda footage.[1] It was the first feature for both directors, who also served as directors of photography.[6] Marchand-Boddy's path to filmmaking began with travels through Cambodia in 2003.[1]
Rithy Panh, Jean-Sebastien Francoeur and Andrew Marchand-Boddy produced the film.[4] Edmund Stenson edited it.[4] Québec Cinéma credits Steve Wright with the original music, and Cinema Politica credits DJ Rob Viktum with the soundtrack.[6][4] Victor Casanova was assistant director.[4] The film is in English, French and Khmer, with English subtitles.[4] Its French title is Retour aux Sources.[7] The festival listing gives a running time of 73 minutes; Québec Cinéma gives 76 minutes and CBC gives 77 minutes.[2][6][5]
Release and reception
Québec Cinéma classifies the film as a 2015 feature-length documentary from Quebec, Canada and Cambodia; Cinema Politica lists it as a 2014 release.[6][4] Its first United States screening was at the Cambodia Town Film Festival on September 6, 2015.[8][1] In 2015 it also screened at the Southern Utah International Documentary Film Festival and at the Vancouver Asian Film Festival, where it was nominated for the People's Choice Award for a Canadian feature.[1] It toured Canada from November 2015 and had its Toronto debut on April 5, 2016, at Hot Docs Bloor Cinema, closing Cinema Politica's winter program.[5] Co-director Marchand-Boddy has said that Cambodian communities around the world told the filmmakers the film helped them cope with their pain or begin to heal.[5] IMDb lists four wins and two nominations for the film.[8]
On May 16, 2026, the film was shown at The Deck at The Wave in Kep during CIFF 360, as a gift from the Art for Kep project.[9]
At the Cambodia Town Film Festival
The film is one of the films shown at the Cambodia Town Film Festival in Long Beach, California.
- 2015: official selection.[2]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Vancouver Asian Film Festival 2015, The Roots Remain
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Cambodia Town Film Festival, CTFF 2015 OFFICIAL SELECTION: THE ROOTS REMAIN (archived)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Cambodia Town Film Festival, THE ROOTS REMAIN (2024-06-07)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 Cinema Politica, THE ROOTS REMAIN (2021-02-23)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 CBC Arts, Montreal graffiti artist FONKi returns to his 'Roots' in powerful documentary (2016-04-25)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Québec Cinéma, The Roots Remain
- ↑ Cambodgemag, Cambodia International Film Festival press conference (2026-03-13)
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 IMDb, The Roots Remain (2015) (2015-09-06)
- ↑ Cambodgemag, Kampot, Cinema Meets History, Then Heads to Kep for a Grand Celebration (2026-05-13)