A River Changes Course

Friday, October 4 - Thursday, October 10, 2013

“We’ve worked so hard on this land,” says  Sav Samourn. “And now they’ve come to destroy it all. Sooner or later it will all be gone.”

In her directorial debut, award-winning filmmaker Kalyanee Mam intimately captures the stories of three families living in Cambodia as they strive to maintain their traditional ways of life amid rapid development and environmental degradation.

Deep in the jungle, Sav Samourn struggles as large companies encroach and “progress” claims the life-giving forests. She discovers there’s little room  for wild animals, ghosts – and the home  she has always known.

In a fishing hamlet, Sari Math must quit school to help support his family. But as the fish catch dwindles, Sari and his family find their livelihood threatened.

In a village, Khieu Mok must leave to seek work in a Phnom Penh factory to help  pay her family’s debts. But city life proves no better, and Khieu struggles between her need to send money home  and her duty to be  with her loved  ones.

From Cambodia’s forests to its rivers, from its idyllic rice fields to the capital’s pulsing heart, forces of radical change are transforming the landscape of the country – and the dreams of its people.

 

• Country Cambodia/USA
• Language In Khmer & Jarai with English subtitles
• Running Time 83 minutes
• Website http://ariverchangescourse.com
• Director Kalyanee Mam

IFC Center does not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, as sensitivities vary from person to person. In addition to the synopses, trailers and other links on our website, further information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on Common Sense Media, IMDb and DoesTheDogDie.com as well as through general internet searches.