As a carrier of cultural values and a window for cultural dissemination, is an important manifestation of the excellent culture and spirit of a country and a nation.
Since the present, the impact of Hollywood and foreign films has made the revival of Cambodian films particularly difficult. Cambodian local directors want to survive in such a crack, and nationalized expression is imminent. In the exploration of nationalized narratives of Cambodian films, some contemporary local directors occupy an important position.
They use a large number of elements of Khmer culture to preserve the integrity and sustainability of national culture and avoid cultural assimilation in the post-colonial era. This is not only a formal decorative factor, but also a support and foundation for the spiritual bottom layer. The nationalized narrative is not only a forceful confrontation between the East and the West in the colonial era, but also a confrontation between Western cultural hegemony and Eastern discourse power in today's society.
Feithanon - a continuation of traditional stories
Feithanon graduated from a film school run by the Film Bureau of the Ministry of Culture of Cambodia in 1988. He has directed some TV series and entered the new century. The creation of Cambodian director Feisanon has also attracted much attention.
He filmed films such as "Tam and Tivi" and "Son of the Python". Among them, the prototype of "Son of the Python" is the film "Wife of the Snake King" shot by Chinese Cambodian director Ti Linkun in the 1970s. This is a movie based on the traditional Cambodian myth of Snake King. achieved great success in the golden age of Cambodian films. brought extremely considerable box office revenue and has been regarded as a classic Cambodian film for decades.
At that time, the Cambodian film market was filled with films flowing from abroad, and the audience had gradually developed aesthetic fatigue. They wanted to see local movies based on traditional Khmer art. Feithang took advantage of this gap and catered to the audience's needs in a timely manner through a film about the ancient legend of the Snake King "Son of the Python".
In the original work, this legend tells the story of a woman who took advantage of her husband's out and fell in love with a python and started falling in love. When the husband came back, he found that his wife was pregnant. When the husband knew that his wife had cheated, he became furious and killed his wife and the python. But a large number of small snakes crawled out of his wife's belly.
This traditional story from the people was originally intended to criticize women for being unfaithful and having a good reputation, but Feisang was adapted according to the different backgrounds of the times and at the same time to meet the needs of the audience.
The little snake survived the disaster escaped and transformed into a pretty woman. She fell in love with a handsome boy. The two of them started a relationship. Although the process was bumpy, they fought against all difficulties and obstacles. They fought wits and courage with the evil forces and finally got married. The theme of the film has changed from criticizing women for being unfaithful in the past to complimenting women to working tirelessly in pursuit of their own happiness and freedom. also praises the romanticism spirit of the two who are willing to contribute to love.
Cambodians believe that snakes are the symbol and protector of the origin of the country. The ancestors regarded snakes as guardians, and Snakes have superpowers in their minds and are extremely powerful.
Cambodians' worship of snakes is also reflected in their buildings, such as the seven-headed snake in Angkor Wat. In their culture, snakes have gradually become a symbol of national culture. Therefore, in the creation of contemporary movies, they often put this national element into the movie.
2006 Cambodian movie "The Grandson of the Snake King" is the sequel to "The Son of the Python". The combination of traditional culture and movies has made the audience's understanding of national culture more deeply, and can also promote the "going out" of national culture.
Paine Bofa - A sudden emergence under the background of new creation
Today, when female movies are gradually rising, Cambodia is a small country with a weaker film industry, and some excellent female directors have emerged in , and is a striking sight.
Their creations have a strong sense of self-awareness. They try to shoot movies from a broader perspective and create them with unique female perspectives, making Cambodian movies more diverse and rich. Paine Bofa is a journalist, novelist, scriptwriter, radio producer, film director, and is also the most successful female filmmaker in Cambodia today.
In her videos, some socially significant topics and some controversial elements are often discussed.
Her films such as "Mother's Heart", "Father's Heart" and "Who Am I", belongs to the most successful category of films in Cambodia at the beginning of the 21st century.
In 1955, Paine was born in the Chantrea area of , Swire Rim Province. She was born into a middle-class family, her father was a teacher and her mother was a housewife. She has 7 siblings, 5 boys and 2 girls. She is the eldest in the family and needs to take care of her younger brothers and sisters.
Although she is very hard to do housework, She still insists on the habit of reading. As long as she has free time, she will grab a book to read, no matter what it is.
At that time, she would study with her father every night. Many of the content they read later became her inspiration for her novels and movies.
Her Khmer literature scores are outstanding. "My composition often comes first. The teacher always uses my composition as a model essay for other students," recalled Paine. Despite her good grades in school, she still failed to go to college because her family couldn't afford the tuition.
Later, she got the opportunity to attend further training classes in foreign countries (such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and Russia). Although she had never been to college, she found that she could understand the speaker's explanation effortlessly, thanks to her extensive reading.
In 1970, she married PhouyChanRasmey. However, Paine's husband, father and a younger brother were all killed during the Khmer Rouge period.
In 1983, she married her second husband TouchBunChoun. They have two children. Her second husband worked for National Television (TVK), and the main influence of Paine becoming a successful director came from her husband.
In 1989, she and her friends established a film production company "PhnomPich". The company only produced one film called "Why does this make such a big mistake".
In the 1990s, she founded her own film company "SayanDara". She has produced 11 videos, such as "I Still Love You" and so on. In 1993, she decided to temporarily put down her work in the movie and became a reporter. Later, she got a job in the Cambodia Light.
The main reason why she wanted to work as a journalist was the painful experience under the Pol Pot regime. Her reading experience and good memory are one of the reasons why she became the best journalist in the newspaper.
In 1998, Paine left the position of journalist and served as associate director at the Women's Media Center. Here, she gained a lot of experience in making information about social services, mostly about education, gender and women.
She is a person who likes to challenge herself and will not spend the rest of her life in the same job.
Since 2004, she has started working for Cambodia TV network , and she has been there until now. So far, she has filmed more than 20 TV series for CTN, including "Parasite" and "Broken Heart", and , which discuss daily life in Cambodia.
In addition to working in CTN, Paine has also produced many feature films, including "The Good Husband" and "The Heart of the Father". Her film "Mother's Heart" is very touching, and the audiences of were crying during the screening.
In 2008, one of her films "The Heart of Teachers" won the bronze medal from the Ministry of Culture and Arts at the 3rd Khmer International Film Festival held in Phnom Penh.
"Who Am I" is another film she made and is also her most controversial film to date. This film discusses lesbians. The two young women in love were forcibly separated by their families because the family could not accept the fact that the woman fell in love with her. The couple tried to explain to their parents, but the latter did not listen at all.
This story clearly depicts discrimination against lesbians. Paine wants to challenge those who think lesbians are "unacceptable and unnatural" biases. The parents in the
need to find a balance between life and death. If they insist on separating the two, their children may choose to commit suicide in order to prove their true love.
