Last Seen At Angkor
An independently-made eighty-minute feature film called Last Seen At Angkor is showing at the Action on Film festival in Los Angeles today, having been shot on a shoestring budget, using mostly local actors, in Cambodia, Thailand and Laos. Written and directed by Michael R Morris, who also takes the lead role alongside Wee Hong Thomas Lim, its a story of a man who has been searching for his missing fiance and returns to Cambodia one last time in hopes of finding her. Against a backdrop of the beauty of Southeast Asia, his search takes him outside the law and into the grip of a human trafficking nightmare. You can see a short trailer of the film at http://www.angkormovie.com/. Read a note from Michael R Morris in the comments section.
posted by Andy Brouwer at
6:31 PM
1 Comments:
Reposted comments:
randominc said...
Hey Andy, thanks for the post. Yes, a group of us are headed down to Long Beach today to attend the screening of Last Seen at Angkor at the Action on Film Festival (I hear John Saxon and David Carradine will be appearing).
Asked about why I chose to base the film in Cambodia, I say because Cambodia is a country that's still on the edge today. Their economy and culture is caught between dire poverty and the thrush of tourist dollars flooding in for the newly-elected World Heritage site: the temples of Angkor Wat. It's only inevitable that many westerners are drawn to it, and sometimes for the wrong reasons. Underage prostitution is a theme explored in the movie, and not necessarily with a favorable eye towards tourists. After all, who is it that keeps the industry in business but outsiders?
The climax of the movie takes place in Siem Reap, the burgeoning jumping-off point to visit Angkor Wat. It's exotic, dangerous, haunting and beautiful all at the same time. What more can a low-budget movie like Last Seen at Angkor do but feature such an amazing place as its backdrop?
Thanks for the nod, and we hope you'll get a chance to see our movie.
11:43 PM
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Brian Stenson said...
Having just returned from my 2nd visit to Cambodia this year I would be very interested in seeing this movie. When will it come to London? How about DVD? I was involved in tracing an 11year old girl who had been taken from her mother on the promise of education and a better life. We located her at a military camp where she was a housemaid. She has since been returned to her family. Grinding poverty and comparative ignorance of outcome seems to be tbe root cause leading to a lot of trafficking. I am afraid that it seems to me to be almost institutionalised in these societies and not necessarily driven by the perv tourists.
Look forward to seeing the movie.
Brian
9:32 PM ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Andy said...
Brian, as an indie-film it may get a showing in the UK at a specialist indie cinema/festival, but there's certainly no guarantee that it will.
In case you missed my post about the K11 Project on 30 May, go to:
http://www.priorityfilms.com/k11/
for more info.
The K11 Project are producing three films - Holly, A Virgin Harvest and The K11 Journey - that expose the real life stories of children abducted into the horrifying world of child trafficking and prostitution. According to the UN, over two million children, some under the age of five, are trafficked and sold to prostitution each year. Somaly Mam is a key figure in A Virgin Harvest, a documentary dealing with personal testimonies, whilst Holly is a feature length film focusing on the story of an underage prostitute. The K11 Journey is the behind-the-scenes story of the three years of work undertaken to uncover the sex trade in SEAsia by the Project team.
3:29 AM ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
randominc said...
"Last Seen at Angkor" is currently appearing at festivals and is working toward a distribution deal. I'll let you know when we have more information.
In the meantime, I would like to know more about the K11 Project and how to help contribute to their work.
Thanks!
1:39 AM -----------------------------------------------------------------------
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1:39 AM -----------------------------------------------------------------------
randominc said...
For those of you on the U.S. West Coast in September, be sure to stop in for the September screening of LAST SEEN AT ANGKOR at the Valley Film Festival in North Hollywood. Anyone who's heard about the film through Andy's blog here, I would love to meet you!
Hope you can make it!
Michael M.
Random, Inc.
randominc@yahoo.com
(details below)
LIFESIZE ENTERTAINMENT
presents
THE VALLEY FILM FESTIVAL
www.valleyfilmfest.com
SCREENING OF
“LAST SEEN AT ANGKOR”
www.angkormovie.com
Written & Directed by
Michael R. Morris
Saturday, September 16th, 2006
4 pm
The El Portal Theatre
5269 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood, CA 91601
(818) 508-0281
www.elportaltheatre.com
Synopsis:
In the lost streets of Cambodia, an American girl has disappeared without a trace. After four years of searching, her fiancé Jeremy Oden returns one last time to find her. The unraveling of the truth is about to begin…
Watch the trailer at:
www.angkormovie.com
5:01 AM -------------------------------------------------------------------------
rg@ngc.com said...
I really enjoyed the film and wish you all the success in the world. Indy film is the only venue for filmmakers without the small budget and making quality for less is the bench mark of your work Micahel. Thanks again.
roby
2:33 AM
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