More Controls Put on Feature Films

Khmer Times
Tin Sokhavuth

A poster for the Cambodian series ‘A Raindrop’ on SEATV. Supplied

The department of cinema and cultural diffusion (DCCD) at the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts announced on Monday that more restrictions would be placed on the production of feature films in the Kingdom.

From December 1, according to the announcement, the DCCD wants all film directors, producers and film experts to closely follow its guidelines in an effort to raise the quality of Cambodian feature films in the domestic market.

“Nowadays, the gap in film production is the lack of quality script writing. A good script is an important component in producing a successful film. Scripts must be professional, understandable and centered around a main point, table of contents and have context for the DCCD to approve for review and possible production,” the announcement said.

The DCCD added that following its previous evaluation, film directors who did not have enough professionalism, experience and expertise would no longer be allowed to produce feature films.

As for new film directors who intended to produce a feature film, they will have to submit a form with two short films attached and other documents judging their competence, knowledge and experience before being allowed to produce the film.

Also, the DCCD will redo its list of existing film directors by reselecting the film directors following their past work, training and effort in creativity. The new list will be approved and recognized by the domestic film industry.

Chea Sopheap, the multimedia director at Bophana Audiovisual Resource Center, told Khmer Times that he agreed with the DCCD on the point that new film directors must have experience producing short films before starting to produce feature films for a larger audience.

“I agreed with the government that new film directors have to make short films first in order to get some experience before making big movies for larger audiences. Doing so, they could avoid making certain inexperienced mistakes,” he said.

However, a director of video production at the NGO Women’s Media Center of Cambodia, who asked not to be named, said she agreed with the government on the restriction of feature film production on the condition that the government makes a clear plan with transparency.

“If the government wants to restrict the production of feature films, they have to make a clear plan with good transparency. If not, corruption will be worse. Film directors have to pay under the table to government officials to let them produce a feature film,” she said.

According to the DCCD, when film directors submit the form for feature film production, the DCCD will take three days to read the script and submit it to the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, which will take 10 days to study the script.

Then the ministry will inform the DCCD about its decision and the DCCD will have two days to inform film directors about the ministry’s decision.

The Cambodia Film Commission (CFC), a non-profit organization dedicated to film production in the Kingdom, says that Cambodia is a movie country by tradition, thanks in part to late King Norodom Sihanouk, who produced more than 30 films.

“Cambodia offers a diversity of potential film locations: its marvelous rice field landscapes, the famous and incredible Angkor temples, the genuinely authentic charm of its towns, the riverbanks of the Tonle Sap and the Mekong, or places still unknown: pagodas and Angkorian temples whose magic provides the inspiration for new stories,” the CFC’s website says.