The Rubber Tappers រឿង៖ អ្នកចៀរជ័រ
ROTHA MOENG I 2024 I Cambodia I 20 min
Folkloric Drama I Khmer w/ English subititles I Philippine Premiere
OPENING SHORT FILM I MATA-ASYA
In Ratanakiri, a province in the northeast of Cambodia, Khlek, an 11-year-old boy, lives on the rubber plantation where his parents work. Coming from the Kreung ethnic minority, they are tappers. But where does this huge, charred tree lying on the ground in the middle of the plantation come from? The answer that Khlek finds is much more complex than it seems.
SCREENING SCHEDULE
AUGUST 29, 2025 I FRIDAY
5 PM I CENTRO DE TURISMO
FREE I Intermission gap after Opening Films
co-presented with Sentro Rizal Filipinas
CENTRO DE TURISMO & MUSEO INTRAMUROS
Old San Ignacio Church, Arzobispo St, Intramuros, Manila, 1002 Metro Manila
Rotha Moeng is a Cambodian director, producer and gallery owner who works between Paris and Phnom Penh. While completing his directorial debut in Banlung, Ratanakiri, he saw two films he produced and co-produced released in Europe: The Sound of the Night by Chandaro Sok and Kong Kea Vann (in competition at the Clermont Ferrand International Short Film Festival), and White Building, a feature by Kavich Neang (in compétition Orizzonti - Mostra de Venise).
Moeng's journey reflects Cambodia's cultural revival after the Khmer Rouge era. Growing up under Pol Pot, he was cut off from art, music, and cinema—until his family fled to a refugee camp in Thailand. There, watching his first film, Poah Keng Kang, awakened a lifelong fascination with storytelling and the arts.
