tailieunhanh - KON THE CINEMA OF CAMBODIA

The paradox of phallocentrism in aIl its manifestations is that it depends on the image of the castrated woman to give order and meaning to its world. An idea of woman stands as lynch pin to the system: it is her lack that produces the phallus as a symbolic presence, it is her desire to make good the lack that the phallus signifies. Recent writing in Screen about psychoanalysis and the cinema has not sufficiently brought out the importance of the representation of the female form in a symbolic order in which, in the last resort, it speaks castration. | -- - ---S - The Cinema of Cambodia tnamnutrsiSi e 01-Tèrer íoroấom Sihanouk du Cambodge- à Docteur Tilman Baumgartel Royal University of Phnom Penh Phnom Penh CAMBODGE Docteur Je vous exprime ma profonde gratitude pour votre email en date du 11 Mai 2010 et pour votre appreciation de mon oeuvre cinématographique. Avec mes chaleureux encouragements et voeux de réussite dans VOS projets Je vous prie Docteur d agreer I assurance de ma haute et affectueuse consideration. Norodom Sihanouk Palais Royal Phnom Penh le 25 Mai 2010 2 KON - The Cinema of Cambodia preface The editorial team in front ofDMC building Neang Eric Kon the title of this magazine means film in Khmer. In this magazine we want to talk both about the past and the present of Khmer film. The Cambodian film industry so far has not recovered from the historic catastrophe of the Khmer Rouge reign of terror from 1975 to 1979. After brief spikes in production around 1990 and in the last decade the situation today is rather bleak. Most of the once over 30 cinemas in Phnom Penh are closed and have been turned into restaurants hotels and snooker halls. Only very few films most of them cheap horror flicks are being produced today. It wasn t always like that. The years between 1960 and 1975 are known as the Golden Age of Khmer Cinema today. In that short period the small country produced almost 400 films. Some of the big stars like Kong Sam Oeun Vichara Dany or Dy Saveth supposedly starred in up to 100 productions. Only around 30 of these films survive remnants of a national cinema that was full of miracles and beauty Kings with magic powers giants witches flying horses gods that walk the earth and a girl with snakes instead of hair are only some of the sensations that the film makers of that time put on the screen despite the very limited technical means that they had at their disposal. But there were also contemporary stories that show a surprisingly cosmopolitan and modem country. And there were the films by His .