Doha Film Institute
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Samnang faces the demolition of his lifelong home in Phnom Penh coupled with pressures from family, friends, and neighbours—which all arise and intersect at this moment of sudden change.
20-year-old Samnang and two of his friends live in the White Building, a landmark tenement in Phnom Penh. In this fast-changing city, the three boys practice their dance routine dreaming of television talent contests while their parents lead a traditional lifestyle, all of them living in harmony. But the White Building is to be demolished. Samnang sees his father unsuccessfully attempting to bring together his divided neighbours on the government’s compensation offers for residents to move out, and has to face his best friend’s departure from Cambodia. Samnang understands that the stable environment he has always called home is now on shaky ground…

Credits

Director
Kavich Neang
Screenwriter
Kavich Neang, Daniel Mattes
Producer
Davy Chou, Marine Arrighi de Casanova

About the Director

Kavich Neang
Kavich Neang was born in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in 1987. He has directed five short films since 2011. He first studied under Rithy Panh, and in 2013, he joined Busan's Asian Film Academy. In 2014, he co-founded Cambodian production company Anti-Archive. He joined Cannes Cinéfondation's Residency in 2017-18. His 2019 documentary 'Last Night I Saw You Smiling' won the NETPAC Award at IFFR, the Special

Screenwriters

Screenwriter
Daniel Mattes
Daniel Mattes is an American researcher, writer, and producer originally from San Francisco, USA, and based in Phnom Penh, where he is a partner at the independent production company, Anti-Archive. In 2016, he joined as a co-writer and associate producer for 'White Building', leading financing and production/post-production management. Daniel was producer and managed world sales for Kavich Neang’s
Contacts