ពេជ្រក្នុងទន្លេ (Dimond in the River), លើទូក លើទឹក (On the Boat On the River)
ពេជ្រក្នុងទន្លេ (Dimond in the River)
Directed by Luyheng Yi, 14min, 2022, Khmer version with English subtitles
Mr. Nhoem Srorl is a freshwater clams finder in the Mekong River around Koh Oknha Tey in Phnom Penh. For his two children, he makes sure to earn enough money so that they can go to school. Every day, he spends 5 to 6 hours per day in the water to collect the clams at the bottom of the river. But it is a hard job to do: Sometimes he faces bad weather and therefore can’t catch any clams, or the season, in which he is allowed to collect the clams, has passed. In addition, many people started using illegal fishing equipment, catching clams during every season. Under these conditions, it is extremely hard for a traditional clams finder like Mr.Srorl to find enough clams to make a living.
លើទូក លើទឹក (On the Boat On the River)
Directed by Sovanpichvicheka KOL, 10:47min, 2022, Khmer with English subtitles
A young Muslim couple, both in their 20s, lives on a boat at a small island north of Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh. Their life relies on the river they live on – the Mekong. The father, ROS Saly, was born and raised on his parents’ boat. He has dropped out of school early to help them make a living. As he has spent all his life on the river, it has become a part of him like his breath and his blood. But the Mekong has changed: The number of fish is declining, the amount of trash increasing. ROS Saly keeps fishing, to support his pregnant wife and two children. When a plane flew over, across where he was living, he looked and wondered about his family’s future. Will he be able to support them with traditional fishing, without losing his ancestral way of life?
