Cinema, round table & concert in Phnom Penh: Carte blanche to Sok Visal

Sok Visal, from stage to screen

From October 17 to 22, the French Institute of Cambodia presents a film cycle
dedicated to Sok Visal! Rapper, filmmaker, director, producer and founder of the first
Cambodian hip-hop and alternative music label KlapYaHandz, Sok Visal has
given the mission of supporting the emergence of culture in Cambodia.

The Institut français is supporting the theatrical release of its latest film KARMALINK, by
preview on Saturday October 22 at 3:30 p.m. in its cinema.
KARMALINK interweaves ancestral cultures and the most contemporary science
in a futuristic imagination rooted in beliefs of extraterrestrial life
surreal. The screening of the film will be followed by a round table with Sok Visal,
moderated by Valentin Rodriguez and Sarah Richardot, on his singular journey, at the
both producer and artist.

To close this film week, a concert for two
artists from the KlapYaHandz label, Vichet “Vl70” and SIN Sesochhata will be held in
the IFC garden.
All the events of this carte blanche are free and open to all.

—
Program

*Monday October 17 at 6:30 p.m.
CINEMA | “Kroab Pich” by Sok Visal and Quentin Clausin (2013)
104 minutes – Khmer version with English subtitles

Three friends promise to grow old together. But circumstances separated them.
15 years later, the death of one of them reunites Rith, now a policeman, and Sovan, a small
gangster who has just robbed the leader of his gang. Traveling south
Cambodia, Rith pursues his dream of becoming Elvis Presley while Sovan is
chased by the gang.

*Tuesday October 18 at 6:30 p.m.
CINEMA | “Poppy Goes to Hollywood” by Sok Visal (2016)
93 minutes – Khmer version with French subtitles

Mony is a somewhat lost guy, without work or goal, who hangs out in the streets of Phnom
Penh.. Until the day he witnesses a murder, forcing him to take refuge in his
older brother, a transgender performer at a drag queen club. Now on the run
with his brother’s friends and performers, dressed as a dancer and calling himself
Poppy, Mony has to hide in Hollywood, a nightclub in the countryside
Cambodian. With the mafia and the police hot on his heels, Mony must adapt to his
new identity…

*Wednesday, October 19 at 6:30 p.m. – OUTDOOR
CINEMA | “In the Life of Music” by Sok Visal and Caylee So (2018)
92 minutes – Khmer version with English subtitles

In the Life of Music follows the journey of Hope, a young American who visits
for the first time to his family in Cambodia. Determined to learn the history of
his parents, Hope finds out how a song, “Champa Battambang” by Sinn
Sisamouth, the king of Khmer music of the 50s and 60s, is an integral part of
three generations.

*Thursday October 20 at 6:30 p.m.
CINEMA | “Poppy Goes to Hollywood” by Sok Visal (2016)
93 minutes – Khmer version with English subtitles

*Saturday October 22
CINEMA | “Kroab Pich” by Sok Visal and Quentin Clausin (2013) at 10:30 a.m.
104 minutes – Khmer version with English subtitles
CINEMA | Preview of “KARMALINK” by Jake Wachtel (2021) at 3:30 p.m.
101 minutes – Khmer version with English subtitles

In this Buddhist sci-fi mystery set in the near future of
Phnom Penh, a young Cambodian detective unravels a connection between the dreams of a
her friend’s past life of a lost gold artifact and the determination of a
neuroscientist to achieve digital enlightenment.

*Round table with Sok Visal and Valentin Rodriguez, moderated by
Sarah Richardot at 5 p.m.
In French and Khmer

*Concert with Vl70 and SIN Sesochhata at 6:30 p.m.
In order to close this beautiful “Carte Blanche” at the Sok Visal cinema, two
iconic artists from the KlapYaHandz label, Sin Setsochhata and VI70, will be able to pass
with elegance from the 7th art to popular music according to their songs!