Founded by acclaimed filmmaker Rithy Panh, a survivor of the Khmer Rouge genocide, the Bophana Center is dedicated to restoring and protecting Cambodian audiovisual heritage and to training a new generation of storytellers.

I Don’t Know Much About ABC 

Phanith Norm and Chanrado Sok 2016 | 22 min | Cambodia

Ron Dara’s life on the streets of Phnom Penh with his elementary-school-aged son is filled with the physical exhaustion of collecting trash and the constant disappointment of making shoes that hardly ever sell. One day he makes enough money to take his son shopping for clothes and to the theme park, revealing what keeps this proud father afloat.

B-Girl

Phally Ngoeum and Namratha Thomas 2016 | 12 min | Cambodia

For most children, dancing is a hobby, a passion, or a sport. For some children in Cambodia, breakdancing is their livelihood, performing at weddings and parties to provide a source of income for their families.

Your Home

Doeurn Chev and Chanrado Sok 2017 | 11 min | Cambodia

When a young Cambodian construction worker decides to move his family to Thailand to pursue better job opportunities, his father, who is also his boss, begs him to stay.  He hopes not just to keep the family together, but to keep the business alive as well.

Home Cemetery

Phally Ngoeum 2016 | 7 min | Cambodia

Collecting and selling garbage for 50 cents or less a day, Sarann can barely earn enough to survive. To buy medicine for her son, she cleans tombs in the cemetery where she lives with her cousin and son. While these jobs are not lucrative, they are part of the life she is building for her family as they mourn the death of her husband and the loss of their home.

Choices in Life

Phally Ngoeum 2016 | 10 min | Cambodia

Yem Thol makes a living by embroidering traditional Khmer costumes with her daughter, Chandin. Though the pair is extraordinarily talented and take great pride in their work, Chandin wants to pursue a more lucrative and more dangerous career as a dancer. A conflict rages between living for themselves and living to sustain a culture nearly decimated by the Khmer Rouge.

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Hosted by the American Museum of Natural History and the Bophana Center.