Diamond Island

Dir. Davy Chou, 2016, France, Germany, Cambodia, 101min, DCP, Color
Starring Sobon Nuon, Cheanick Nov, Madeza Chhem, Mean Korn
In Khmer with English subtitles

Eighteen-year-old Bora (Sobon Nuon) leaves his village for employment on the construction sites of Diamond Island, an ultra-modern and upscale riverfront project emblematic of Cambodia’s future. He’s inducted into the fold with his fellow workers and finds his older brother, the charismatic Solei (Cheanick Nov), who disappeared five years earlier. Solei introduces Bora to the area’s wealthy urban youth, and all the temptations that come with their lifestyle. The film’s moody scenes and electronic score set a seductive and emotional atmosphere, with a focus on a cast of magnetic untrained debut actors that renders this more than just a coming-of-fortune tale. Director Davy Chou’s critically-acclaimed first feature was screened at lauded competitions including Istanbul Film Festival, Tokyo International Film Festival, and Festival du Nouveau Cinéma.

Nominee, Critics’ Week Grand Prize, 2016 Cannes Film Festival

“‘Diamond Island’ feels like a little dream; a film that, at the end, you don’t finish as much as awaken from.” –The New York Times

“The intoxicating imprint that the film leaves is that of the hesitation that its staging establishes, which erases everything that could be a scriptwriting or dramatic tour de force to make the passage of a state, of a place, almost invisible. Or from one regime to another.” –Cahiers du Cinéma