We present a list of 10 Films you cannot miss at the 7th Cambodia International Film Festival that is taking place from March 4th – 9th, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Apprentice by Boo Junfeng – Singapore | 2016 – 115 min.

A young correctional officer who lives with his older sister, is transferred to one of the country’s leading prisons, where he befriends Rahim, the institution’s long-serving executioner. Rahim takes Aiman under his wing with a view to grooming him as his death row apprentice, but how will Aiman use the knowledge that his father was once executed by his new mentor?

A bracing psychological drama set among the life-and-death dealings of an Malay prison.

Schedule
March 6th – Legend – TK Avenue – 2:00 pm
March 7th – Major Cineplex – 4:30 pm

Trailer

Bangkok Nites by Tomita Katsuya – Japan, France, Thailand, Laos | 2016 – 183 min.

Thaniya Road, a red-light district in Bangkok is frequented only by Japanese men. Luck is one of the reigning queens there. She had fallen in love with a poor ex-Japanese soldier. During a short stay, together, in her homeland near the Laotian border, her boyfriend starts dreaming of a quiet life in this little village, but becomes aware of the scars left by colonialism.

Schedule
March 5th – Bophana Center – 6:00 pm
March 9th – French Institute – 1:00 pm

Trailer

By The Time It Gets Dark by Anocha Suwichakornpong – Thailand | 2016 – 105 min.

A director and her muse, a former student activist in the 1970s, a waitress who keeps changing employers, comedians and actresses … all these characters are vaguely connected to each other by almost invisible ties. The narrative changes skin several times to reveal the different levels of complexities that make the life of these characters.

Schedule
March 4th – French Institute – 2:15 pm
March 7th – Legend – TK Avenue – 2:00 pm

Trailer

Dearest Sister by Mattie Di – Lao PDR, France, Estonia | 2016 – 101 min.

A village girl who travels to the Lao capital Vientiane to care for her rich cousin who has misteriously lost her sight, and somehow gained the ability to communicate with the dead. Matters are further driven downfall by the cousin’s ambivalent marriage with an Estonian expat, who has his own dark secrets to hide.

Schedule
March 4th – Major Cineplex – 1:30 pm
March 5th – Legend TK Avenue – 6:15 pm

Trailer

Diamond Island by David Chou – Cambodia, France | 2016 – 101 min.

Bora, 18, left his campaign to work on the shipyards on the Diamond Island (Koh Pich). On the spot, he makes new friends and hope to be reunited with his five-years missing older brother Solei. It introduces Bora to the world of night. Bora falls in love and would like to leave this life of poverty. He is now ready to leave his family to live the American dream …

Schedule
March 5th – Open Air (Diamond Island) – 6:30 pm
March 9th – Platinum Cineplex – 11:40 am

Trailer

Love 2 Power 4 by Sothea Ines and Deependra Gauchan – Cambodia | 2017 – 115 min.

Finding love is just the beginning but the real challenge lies in keeping it alive. Four stories, four middle-class Cambodian couples who tries to achieve their dreams and ambitions. They struggle to balance their professional and romantic aspirations. In addition to trying to find time for one another in the modern world, their relationships are threatened by hidden secrets and shadows from their pasts that re-emerge in their everyday lives.

Schedule
March 6th – Platinum Cineplex – 8:30 pm
March 8th – Legend TK Avenue – 5:00 pm
March 9th – Legend City Mall – 12:00 pm

Sneak Peek

Mind Cage by Amit Dubey – Cambodia | 2016 – 83 min.

A psychiatrist from Phnom Penh strongly opposes to a rural healer regarding his mental illnesses harsh treatments. The doctor’s confrontation with tradition, however, incurs the wrath of the healer who locks his patients in cages. The struggle to defeat superstition and old beliefs will impact the family life of the psychotherapist.
A face-off of modern science versus traditional medical methods.

Schedule
March 5th – Major Cineplex – 6:30 pm (World Premiere)
March 6th – Legend TK Avenue – 4:30 pm
March 8th – Legend Stung Meanchey – 5:10 pm

Teaser

Moonlight by Barry Jenkins – USA | 2016 – 111 min.

A timeless story of human self-discovery chronicles the life of a young black man named Chiron. From his childhood to adulthood, he struggles to find his place in the world while growing up in a rough neighborhood of Miami. He experiences the pain, and beauty of falling in love, while grappling with his own sexuality.

Schedule
March 7th – Legend City Mall – 12:00 pm

Trailer

Solo, Solitude (Istirahatlah Kata-kata) by Yosep Anggi Noen – Indonesia | 2016 – 97 min.

The Suharto regime has been holding power in Indonesia for over 30 years. When riots break out in Jakarta in 1996, Wiji Thukul a famous poet and a few activists are accused to be responsible. Forced to flee, Wiji escapes to Borneo where he hides and change his identity several times. In Solo, central Java, his wife lives with their children under constant surveillance. In May 1998, Wiji is declared missing, a month before Suharto is deposed.

Schedule
March 6th – French Institute – 7:00 pm
March 8th – Legend TK Avenue – 12:00 pm

Trailer

The Forest Whispers by Jimmy Henderson – Cambodia | 2016 – 118 min.

An isolated village has been condemned to a bad fate. The chief of commune refuses to let the people leave this cursed land. Thanks to a spiritual leader, a mysterious woman appears near a river. The chief decide to give her one week to prove she can be useful to the community. Some strange events happened, but the villagers don’t know if she is their savior or their executioner.

Schedule
March 4th – Legend City Mall – 11:30 am
March 7th – Legend TK Avenue – 6:45 pm

Trailer

To know more about this festival please go to the Festival Profile or to the Official Website.