Bong Thom (The Brother)

• Zaradasht Ahmed
• 84 min
• Norway, Sweden, Netherlands
• 2023
• Documentary

The consequences of the Civil War are still palpable in award-winning Zaradasht Ahmed’s (Nowhere to Hide, GFF 2017) intimate and moving portrayal of two brothers in present-day Cambodia.

Since the Civil War, the population of Cambodia has been tormented by the fact that there are still lots of mines hidden in the terrain. One of those affected is Heng, who when he was six years old found an exciting object by the side of the road, which then exploded in his hands. He survived but received lifelong trauma. Ten years later, his smallholder family worries about Heng’s future and sends him to his older brother, Chana, who makes a living producing romantic music videos in the bustling and chaotic Phnom Penh. Traditional Cambodian rural life meets today’s modern city life in a rigorously executed documentary where a brotherly relationship faces great challenges.

- Tobias Åkesson

• Familj
• Dokumentär
• Stad
• Landsbygd
• Uppbrott