July 22, 2015

CTFF 2015 OFFICIAL SELECTION: THE LAST REEL

by

The Last Reel
2014 ‧ Drama film ‧ 1h 46m

Director: Kulikar Sotho
Music composed by: Christopher Elves
Screenplay: Ian Masters
Cinematography: Bonnie Elliott
Cast: Dy Saveth, Ma Rynet, Rous Mony, Sothun Sok, Hun Sophy
Producers: Kulikar Sotho, Murray Pope, Ian Masters

A lost film, buried beneath Cambodia’s killing fields, reveals different versions of the truth. A contemporary story about love, family and the ghosts of Cambodia’s past.

The Last Reel exposes the legacy of civil war and genocide and the shadow this violence has cast over subsequent generations. The trauma may have only been experienced by those who lived through the dark years of Khmer Rouge rule, but the impact of the living nightmare has been passed on to the next generation. Almost nobody talks about the past, almost nobody has dealt with their past, but have chosen to suppress or ignore it as a coping mechanism to deal with the pain. However, this suppression of raw emotion comes at a cost and affects the behaviour of an entire older generation in their everyday lives. In trying to protect the next generation by concealing a painful past, many parents have in fact damaged the next generation instead by not allowing themselves to heal. It is hoped that The Last Reel will play its part in a long overdue recovery process in Cambodia by encouraging generations old and young to talk more openly about the past. The ghosts of the past are not easily buried and will continue to haunt a generation unless they are able to give a voice to the victims and their own suffering. http://www.thelastreel.info/

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