FILMS
STRANGLED
(Documentary, Cambodia, June 2024)
SYNOPSIS:
From the 1980s to the early 2000s, microfinance loans to the world’s poor were heralded as a silver bullet for global poverty. While globally its effectiveness has been reevaluated since its inception, microfinance in Cambodia is still considered a tool for poverty alleviation.
Born on the backbone of a wider research project from the Royal Holloway University of London and the Nottingham University, "Strangled" challenges this narrative. The stories of the 3 Cambodian families in this film debunk the myth of microfinance as a tool that serves the poor. Instead, they portray a bleak scenario where microfinance lending has induced suicide, forced migration, and tore vulnerable families apart.
Through the eyes of the protagonists and their intimate experiences, the film intends to document the struggle so many Cambodians face when dealing with micro-finance indebtedness.
CREDITS:
Director: Robin Narciso & Thomas Cristofoletti
Producers: Thomas Cristofoletti, Robin Narciso, Seng Phi, and Jack Brook
Director of Photography: Thomas Cristofoletti
Second Camera: Robin Narciso & Andy Ball
Original Music: Gabriel Courroux
Colorist: Phanit Chhum
Editor: Robin Narciso
TRAILER
SRA STORIES: DISTILLING A LASTING LEGACY
(Short Documentary, Cambodia, March 2023)
SYNOPSIS:
In Mondulkiri, a young woman follows her mother on a journey to find the ingredients of an almost forgotten rice spirit recipe. As the search progresses, she rediscovers the value of her indigenous roots.
ABOUT THE PROJECT:
The film was commissioned by Pernod Ricard to document the practices of old Cambodian rice wine and spirits making, and reinvigorate pride over a national tradition and product.
CREDITS:
Writer/Director: Robin Narciso
Director of Photography: Andy Ball
Field Producer and Fixer: Sreymom Mab
Story Consultant: Luke Corbin
Executive Producer: Christopher Rompré
Colorist: Phanit Chhum
Editor: Robin Narciso
FULL FILM
(Drama, Short Film, Cambodia, November 2022)
SYNOPSIS:
Jane is a young British influencer with a popular Youtube channel on fast fashion.
Variety and Lyda, two young Cambodian women, work at an illegal clothing factory to sustain their families during the COVID-19 pandemic.
While seemingly unrelated, an invisible thread connects the stories of these 3 women.
ABOUT THE PROJECT:
Based on the true stories of garment factory workers, this is the second short film that is part of a UK and Cambodian Research project called Re-Fashion.
The research documented the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on garment factory workers’ lives in Cambodia.
CREDITS:
Cast: Kirsty Day, Deka, Samnang Visa, Sara Chantra, and Heng Savoeun
Writer / Director: Robin Narciso
Director of Photography / Producer: Thomas Cristofoletti
Assistant Director: Ines Sothea
Line Producer: Phong Sopheaktra (Tra)
Sound Engineer: Put Bunnary
Camera Assistant / Focus Puller: Pisey Nith
Costumes and set design: Luisa Roa Mantilla
Prop Master: John Alex
Production Assistant: Kao Sophanit
Production Assistant: Mes Sarin
Make Up Artist: Somnang Pheaktra
Gaffers Team: Sok Dy
Gaffers: Pov Sokhoun, Sorn Tha, Key Vuththeng, Run Khemara, Meas Phalla, Men Dara
Transportation: Uch Mao Mao
Transportation: Kim Meng
VFX: Lim Heng
Audio post-production: Kongchak Pictures
Sound Design / Re-recording Mix: Srey Moch Kim & Vincent Villa
Colorist: Phanith Chhum
Music: Song of Sewing Machine #1 by DJ QuestionMark (permissions granted courtesy of the Author)
THE HAUL
FULL FILM
SYNOPSIS:
The Covid-19 Pandemic is in its 8th month in Cambodia and most garment factories are suspending production leaving hundred of thousands of workers without an income.
Leakhena, a pregnant woman and mother of a 8 year old, is one of them. As her husband also struggles to bring home any income, she will need to find a way to sustain her growing family and pay her family debts.
Based on the true stories of garment factory workers, this short film is part of a UK and Cambodian Research project called Re-Fashion.
The research documented the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on garment factory workers’ lives in Cambodia.
CREDITS:
Cast: Erica Tan, Ros Mony, Trai Rothanak, Mony Yuth, Bun Thach, and Chakrya Chea
Director: Robin Narciso
Assistant Director: Ines Sothea
Director of Photography: Thomas Cristofoletti
Line Producer: Simouy Seng
Sound Engineer: Put Bunnary
Camera Assistant / Focus Puller: Maty Prom
Costumes and set design: Luisa Roa Mantilla
Make Up Artist: Somnang Pheaktra
Gaffers and Lights: Sok Dy Team
Audio post production: Kongchak Pictures
Sound Design / Re-recording Mix: Srey Moch Kim & Vincent Villa
Colorist: Phanith Chhum
THE WEDDING RING
(Drama, Short Film, Cambodia, November 2022)
FULL FILM
(Thriller, Short Film, Italy, April 2022*)
SYNOPSIS:
After 10 years away, a man returns to his old town to find his teenage crush and tell her his feelings. His love declaration will end up exhuming long buried secrets.
CREDITS:
Directed and Written by: Robin Narciso
Shot by: Thomas Cristofoletti
Produced by: Robin Narciso and Thomas Cristofoletti
ECLISSI
FULL FILM
(Documentary/Short Film/ Cambodia/ January 2021)
SYNOPSIS:
Fisherman Piseth and his family live on the edge of the Tonle Sap Lake and they are experiencing first-hand the consequences of climate change and the construction of the hydroelectric dams on the Mekong. Fish stocks have plummeted and the family is becoming increasingly worried about how they are going to feed themselves.
CREDITS:
Commissioned by: South China Morning Post
Produced by : Thomas Cristofoletti and Robin Narciso
Shot by: Thomas Cristofoletti
Edited by: Robin Narciso
Awards: Winner of 2021 RWI Prize at Bali’s MINIKINO Film Festival
Selected at: Cambodia International Film Festival
THE LAST BREATH OF THE TONLE SAP
FULL FILM
(Black Comedy/Short film,/Cambodia/September 2020)
SYNOPSIS:
An instagram model, a zealot priest, and a woke cyclist couple, all suffering from amnesia, find themselves in the waiting room of a disgruntled scientist.
Soon they discover they have more in common than memory loss and have not been selected by chance.
CREDITS:
Directed and Written by: Robin Narciso
Shot by: Thomas Cristofoletti
Produced by: Robin Narciso and Thomas Cristofoletti
Selected at: “We like ‘em short” Film Festival; Apex Film Awards; New York Flash Film Festival; SHORT to the point; Best Istanbul Film Festival.
