Showcasing Aki Ra's Boys

Another new film earning rave reviews at the current batch of film festivals taking place, Paris last month, Singapore this, is an hour long feature, Aki Ra's Boys by Singaporean duo Lynn Lee and James Leong.

Boreak was six when he lost his right arm in a landmine accident. Family members rushed the young Cambodian to a nearby hospital where so-called 'doctors' performed a crude amputation. Burdened with eight other children to feed and unable to cope with the stress of handling a crippled son, Boreak’s parents decided to send him to a home in Siem Reap for young landmine victims. This film looks at the world through Boreak’s eyes, and through the eyes of his good friend, Vannak. It is a world at once bleak and brimming with possibilities. Through Boreak, we also meet Aki Ra, a former child soldier, trained by the Khmer Rouge to lay landmines. Now in his 30s, Aki Ra is haunted by his violent past and hopes to make amends by giving children like Boreak a home, and by helping remove the millions of landmines still buried in his country. Ultimately though, the film is a celebration of a child's tenacity and indomitable will to overcome the odds. Boreak may be a victim, but he doesn’t behave like one. His zest for life is infectious, his ability to laugh, a testament to the courage and strength children can have in the face of adversity. Read more here.