Curated by Allison Chhorn and presented as part of Skin Shade Night Day, this screening program centres around works that inspired her exhibition, spotlighting Cambodian film-makers whose works, like Chhorn, explore themes of memory, family and the legacy of cultural trauma.

The screening program is a continuation of Allison’s ongoing research project into artists of the Cambodian diaspora, Artists of Cambodian Diaspora.

“These Cambodian film-makers share a responsibility that resonates very closely to my own practice — responding to current ways of living that are in danger of being lost while also recognising their inevitable end by capturing their memory” – Allison Chhorn.

The Rice People

Director: Rithy Panh

Cambodia, 1994, 125 min

Khmer with English subtitles

Synopsis: A remarkable debut feature film from Cambodia’s most internationally celebrated film-maker Rithy Panh, The Rice People chronicles a few critical months in the life of a peasant farming family struggling to eke out a living in a deeply scarred, post-Khmer Rouge society. Adapted from a novel by Shahnon Ahmad, The Rice People was the first Cambodian film (co-produced with France and Germany) to be nominated for a Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, in 1994.

Images: The Rice People (1994), film stills. Courtesy Rithy Panh.