Film
Poppy Goes to Hollywood
Poppy Goes to Hollywood is a 2016 Cambodian crime comedy directed by Sok Visal about a young man who hides among transgender performers.[1] A reworked director's cut, Poppy Goes to Hollywood Redux, followed in 2017.[2]
Synopsis
Mony is a young man in debt who spends his days on the streets of Phnom Penh.[3] He turns for help to his older sister Lena, a dancer at a gay club.[4][5] When a criminal gang commits a murder outside the club, Mony is the witness.[4] With the gang and the police after him, he dresses as a dancer, calls himself Poppy and goes on the run with his sister's fellow performers.[2] The group travels to Preah Vihear province and hides at Hollywood, a run-down nightclub owned by the veteran transgender artist Lyly.[3] There they meet hostility and acceptance, and Mony falls for Lyly's adopted daughter while he works to make peace with Lena.[3]
Production and credits
Sok Visal directed and edited the film, his second feature and his first as sole director.[4][6] Michael Hodgson and Richard Johnston Finn wrote the screenplay, and Chanvisal Bun was the cinematographer.[4] Sok Visal, R. Johnston Finn, Michael Hodgson, Theang Neak Okhna Kith and Sila Chy produced it for 802 AD Productions.[4][1] The cast includes Un Sothea as Mony and Pee Mai as his sibling, with Peypey Dy, Chen Choeun, Sok Vanna, Duch Lida and San Mao.[4][3][2] The performer Poppy (Leang Sothea) plays Sasa, who leads the group of dancers.[1][6]
The film was shot in rural Kampong Chhnang in October 2015.[6] It was made in Khmer for a young Khmer audience, and the Cambodia Film Commission lists Khmer and English as its languages.[6][1] Sok Visal said he took on the script because he saw "an important story to tell," the struggles of the LGBT community in Cambodia, told with humor.[6] The soundtrack draws on classic Cambodian rock from the 1960s.[3]
Release and reception
The film opened in Cambodia on May 5, 2016, with a running time of 93 minutes, and Sabay MVP handled its theatrical release there.[5][1][7] Asian Shadows took it on as one of its first two Cambodian titles.[8] The director's cut, Poppy Goes to Hollywood Redux, screened at the Busan International Film Festival in A Window on Asian Cinema and at Seoul Pride Film Festival in 2017.[2] In 2018 the film played the Tromsø and Göteborg festivals, had its Japan premiere at the Osaka Asian Film Festival on March 12, and screened at the Hanoi International Film Festival on October 27.[2][9][10] Its U.S. premiere came at the virtual edition of the Cambodia Town Film Festival in 2020.[4]
Reviewing the film for Variety, Richard Kuipers called it "the first genuine LGBT-themed feature from Cambodia."[2] Before the release, Sok Visal said it could be the first mainstream genderqueer-friendly feature made in Cambodia.[6]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Cambodia Film Commission, Poppy Goes to Hollywood (2019-09-11)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Asian Shadows, Poppy Goes to Hollywood Redux
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Variety, Film Review: Poppy Goes to Hollywood Redux (October 14, 2017)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 Cambodian Moments, Cambodia Town Film Festival Virtual Edition (September 16, 2020)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 IMDb, Poppy Goes to Hollywood (2016)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 Phnom Penh Post, Coming out: Film places 'ladyboys' at the fore (April 29, 2016)
- ↑ IMDb, Poppy Goes to Hollywood (2016), company credits
- ↑ IMDb News, Filmart: Asian Shadows picks up Cambodian duo
- ↑ Osaka Asian Film Festival 2018, Poppy Goes to Hollywood Redux
- ↑ IMDb, Poppy Goes to Hollywood (2016), release info