Awards and festivals

Film description

Chou is enjoying her first years of maternity. It is April 1975, Pol Pot's army takes over Phnom Penh. Chou's family is forced to evacuate, supposedly only for a little while. On the way, they lose more and more of their possessions, joining the countless streams of people fleeing towards the obscure, increasingly threatening future. As they are crossing the river, Chou suddenly loses sight of their 4-year-old boy.

Denis Do's tragic story from the times of the Red Khmer regime is based on his mother's experiences. He shows the everyday arduous struggle for survival, and the extraordinary power of hope. Thanks to the animated form, the partly documentary narration gains a personal, intimate character. The filmmaker does not focus on brutal images, instead concentrating on details and individual events, which makes the protagonist experiences painfully close to home. The stunning beauty of the Cambodian landscapes stands in stark contrast to the cruelty of people's actions, creating a disturbing, disquieting discord, which will long haunt the audiences.

Jagoda Murczyńska