Cambodian Film “Fathers” Submitted for Oscar

Fathers is selected as the Cambodian submission for the Oscar’s Best Foreign Language Film category. Supplied

“Fathers”, a Cambodian feature film about a struggling father who desires to support his children through his work as a cyclo driver, has been submitted to the 93rd Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film.

The announcement was made yesterday by the Cambodia Oscar Selection Committee (COSC) after weeks of the decision-making and submission process.

“The submission process was very difficult this year,” said COSC in a statement. “Because of COVID-19, there were new materials to upload with specific technical requirements.”

Released in January, Fathers was one of two films which were submitted to the COSC for selection, the other being Young Love, a romantic drama released in November 2019. During the selection process, the two films appeared to be neck and neck.

“Voting was a tie and a third round of discussion by members chose Fathers this year,” COSC said.

Fathers will be considered by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the next steps are to make the shortlist of 10 films, then to be one of the five nominees. The only nominee to represent Cambodia at the Academy Awards is Rithy Panh’s The Missing Picture, a 2013 documentary about growing up during the Khmer Rouge, which was nominated for the 86th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film but failed to bring home the award.

Directed and produced by Huy Yaleng of Kakthachey Film Production, Fathers, with its emotional message and a storyline that underscores a diminishing yet an iconic form of transportation in the Kingdom, has drawn a huge social media following ahead of its premiere in January this year.

“We are very happy, as this is the level that we have always wanted to achieve after 20 years of hard work,” Yaleng said. “Although this is the first time I have submitted my film to COSC, my desire is to win the award.”

Yaleng, who in the past years has been following cinemagoer’s preference for horror films, decided to make his first dramatic film, which required him to conduct in-depth research on the life of cyclo drivers in Phnom Penh, many of whom do not have a home and have to live on their vehicles by the gate of the capital’s Ounalom pagoda.

Sum Sithen, a COSC member, told Khmer Times that he is satisfied with the way by which Fathers depicts the hard lives of underprivileged people of Cambodia as well as the script.

“However, in my own opinion, I also found some drawbacks in the film, especially in terms of some actors’ performances and the music part,” he said.

Meanwhile, Yaleng, the director, said he does not have much hope of winning this time but still considers the nomination a huge milestone in his career.

“We don’t expect our film to win such a prestigious award, but this is a great experience for us to do even better in our future projects,” he said.