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Introduction

Cambodia, France, China, Qatar / 2021 / 90 min
Director：NEANG Kavich

“The White Building” is a communal housing apartment with a very unique design built in Phnom Pen in 1963. A young man named Samnang lives there with his family, and he and two friends are pouring their youthful hopes and dreams into rehearsals for a TV dance competition. But the building is scheduled to be demolished. Samnang's father is the spokesperson for the residents but feels cornered when the residents’committee dissolves into warring factions. And then his best friend decides to leave Cambodia... Director NEANG Kavich grew up in the White Building and his previous film, “Last Night I Saw You Smiling” (2019), was a documentary about the demolition of the apartments. This latest film is a fictional exploration of the experiences of the residents on the eve of the destruction of the apartments. The film had its world premiere in the Orizzonti (Horizons) Section of the Venice Film Festival.

Director's Statement

Phnom Penh seems to change every day, but our memories remain. My family’s 2017 eviction from the White Building, an historic apartment block, made way for new casino developments. Like my parents’ generation, which suffered through Cambodia’s troubled past, my generation now carries the traumas of the present. Young people, like my film’s protagonist, Samnang, dream of something better in the new Cambodia. Yet larger decisions are still out of their hands, and parents like Samnang’s remain stubbornly tied to tradition. But this film allowed me to imagine again. The fiction frees Samnang from my own path. He wakes up from a long sleep. He recalls the past but charts his own future.

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