The showing of the Cambodian sci-fi movie, Karmalink, in the Venice Film Festival recently marked something of a new chapter for Cambodian cinema. Finally we had some Cambodian sci-fi, and the critics didn't mind it. The success of the movie showed there is space for Cambodian sci-fi, however the movie was conceived, written & produced by barang.
It raised a question. Where are Cambodia's science fiction writers?
There may be reasons for this. The tragedy genre has been solid and tends to sit far enough in the past that current government officials are rarely offended. Writing as such, and in English, can also get books into the international market that offers greater copyright protection and hence returns. The lack of interest in literature from youth that grew up with uneducated parents and with social media as their only literary medium has no doubt hindered the local market.
However as Mak Suong has shown, you can push the boundaries and remain out of jail.
So will Karmalink encourage some of Cambodia's young writers to pen science fiction pieces, to break out of the confines of a stereotyped past and offer an alternate view of the far future?
Hopefully.
Cambodian Science Fiction
-
- Similar Topics
- Replies
- Views
- Last post
-
- 0 Replies
- 1355 Views
-
Last post by Bong Burgundy
Tue Jan 21, 2020 4:24 pm
-
-
Expat Crime Fiction In Bangkok: Recommended Reads
by Londo » Sun May 28, 2023 11:30 am » in Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar and Lao forums - 11 Replies
- 2441 Views
-
Last post by Lucky Lucan
Wed May 31, 2023 1:30 pm
-
-
- 1 Replies
- 2881 Views
-
Last post by Playboy
Mon Jul 06, 2020 8:14 am
-
- 11 Replies
- 3671 Views
-
Last post by stevecz
Tue Oct 01, 2019 10:42 am