ICA is closed from the 30 May – 3 June inclusive.
White Building, dir. Kavich Neang, Cambodia / France / China 2021, 90 min., Central Khmer with English subtitles
Aspiring dancer Samnang and his family are part of a close-knit community in the White Building – a prominent apartment block and cultural landmark of the Cambodian capital. They find their lives suddenly shattered by the news of their home’s impending demolition, to make way for a new development.
Things are made even worse when, fighting against the inevitable, Samnang’s father develops a mysterious illness. Yet in the struggle they find solidarity, even joy.
Following the acclaimed documentary Last Night I Saw You Smiling, Neang’s fiction debut is a triumph of economic and inventive storytelling. The subdued, naturalistic performances fuse wonderfully with the dramatic narrative and nonfiction elements to create a truly captivating testament to ‘home’ and a hymn of resistance to urban displacement.
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