Film
Cirque du Cambodia
Cirque du Cambodia is a 2020 documentary by Joel Gershon about two young Cambodian circus performers who set out to join Cirque du Soleil.[1][2] It follows them from their village in Cambodia to the National Circus School in Montreal.[3]
Synopsis
Sopha Nem and Dina Sok grew up in a rural village and began their training at Phare Ponleu Selpak, an arts school whose name means "brightness of the arts."[1][3] The school stands in a village outside Battambang.[4] Its social-circus program teaches juggling, tightrope walking and trapeze to at-risk and marginalized young people, who perform for local residents and tourists.[3]
After watching a Cirque du Soleil video, the two set a goal of becoming the first Cambodians to perform with the company.[5] They moved to Montreal, where Cirque du Soleil has its headquarters, to train at the National Circus School.[5][3] People who appear in the film include Srey Bandol, a co-founder of Phare Ponleu Selpak; Jesse Dryden, director of the National Circus School; and Rob Bollinger, an acrobatic designer for Cirque du Soleil.[1]
Production and credits
Gershon first saw the Phare circus perform during a trip to Cambodia in 2011.[6][4] He filmed the performers for eight years across four countries, on a limited budget; it was his first feature-length film.[3] He has said he worked on the story for nine years, and that he made the film to promote social circus and show how art can help vulnerable children overcome hardship.[6]
Gershon wrote, directed and produced the film, and he also narrates it.[5][1] Sticky Rice Films produced it.[1] It was made in Cambodia, Canada, Thailand and the United States, and it is in Khmer, English and French with English subtitles. It runs 85 or 86 minutes.[5][1] Gershon distributed the film himself.[7]
Release and reception
The film won the Jury Prize at the Circus International Film Festival on April 17, 2021, and an Outstanding Excellence award from Docs without Borders.[5] At the 2021 Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival, where it had its New England premiere, it won the feature Audience Award.[5][3] It also won an audience award at the 2022 Berkshire International Film Festival.[3]
The film opened the 2021 Cambodia Town Film Festival on September 25, 2021, at the Art Theatre in Long Beach, California.[6] In 2022 it was part of the 11th Cambodia International Film Festival, and Rosewood Phnom Penh planned a free screening of it during the festival.[8] It was shown at the Association for Asian Studies Film Expo on March 15, 2024.[7]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 IMDb, Cirque du Cambodia (2020)
- ↑ Long Beach Post, 9th annual Cambodia Town Film Festival (September 24, 2021)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Joel Gershon, Cirque du Cambodia
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Berkshire International Film Festival, The Filmmaker Four: Joel Gershon (2022)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival, Cirque du Cambodia (2021)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Cambodia Town Film Festival, CTFF Filmmaker Highlight: Joel Gershon (archived)
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Association for Asian Studies, 2024 Film Expo booklet
- ↑ Rosewood Phnom Penh, Rosewood Phnom Penh Continues Partnership with Cambodia International Film Festival to Support Khmer Cinema (June 23, 2022)