Hanuman is excited to announce that the feature film debut from our sister company Hanuman Films will enjoy its World Premiere at the Tokyo International Film Festival 2014 on Sunday 26 October at 14.10pm at the TOHO Cinemas, Roppongi Hills.
Sophuon (Ma Rynet) looks out of the projection booth in The Last Reel
The Last Reel is the directorial debut from Sotho Kulikar and is a Hanuman Films Production. It is the one of the first full-length feature films to be directed by a Cambodian woman and is generating significant international interest. The Last Reel was shot entirely on location in Cambodia during 2013 with a cast of leading local talent, including Ma Rynet, Dy Saveth and Rous Mony.
A lost film buried beneath the Killing Fields reveals different versions of the truth. In an abandoned cinema, rebellious teenager Sophoun discovers an old film starring her mother, offering her the chance to dictate her own destiny at last, but at the cost of uncovering some dark secrets from the past about her parents lives during the Khmer Rouge regime.
Visit The Last Reel website http://www.thelastreel.info/ to learn more about the film in English, Khmer or French, including a fullscreen version of the trailer to whet your appetite. The website also include the official brochure for the film, a gallery of film stills and behind-the-scenes images, and the official poster for the film. There is also an official The Last Reel Facebook page and we welcome all Likes: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Last-Reel/1581309628755913
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.
Before coming onboard as Executive Producer, Lloyd Levin (Producer of major Hollywood films such as Tomb Raider, Boogie Nights, Hellboy, Green Zone and United 93) had this to say about The Last Reel: “I’m overwhelmed. It’s magnificent. It’s beautifully shot. Acting and writing is terrific. Just beautifully made from top to bottom. This is such a sophisticated film thematically I can’t believe it was directed by a first time director. The way it weaves regret, remorse, joy, love, guilt, redemption, politics with the past and present. I was moved by the sentiment that movies can be the thing that can bring together disparate people – political enemies, oppressors and their victims, fathers and daughters – despite everyone’s different version of the truth. And the idea that a movie can be just as, if not more real, than reality, and can become our reality, is truly sublime. That’s a beautiful idea and The Last Reel is a wonderful movie.”
The Last Reel is in the running for the Asian Future prize at the Tokyo International Film Festival. If you have any questions about the film, please do not hesitate to get in touch. In the meantime, thanks in advance for all your help in spreading the word as The Last Reel approaches its world premiere.
