Best Cambodian drama movies

An Apostle of Non-Violence (1997)

A Buddhist monk tries to preach non-violence to the Khmum-Chachak rebels and the National Army, who are in the midst of a civil war that can dangerously affect innocent civilians.

Bopha Angkor (1972)

A young nurse meets a tourist from Hong Kong at Angkor Wat, and they fall in love. Later, they encounter each other again, with the nurse in the Cambodian Army and the tourist as a war reporter.

Doi Boy (2023)

Sorn, an ethnic Shan sex worker, tries to build a future in Chiang Mai, Thailand, as a refugee far from home, but he is drawn into a complex relationship with one client, an investigator probing a political activist.

Shadow Over Angkor (1968)

General Mchulpich plots a coup with the CIA and South Vietnam to secede two provinces from Cambodia.

Mekong 2030 (2020)

Produced by the Luang Prabang Film Festival, "MEKONG 2030" is a collection of short narrative films that envision the future of the Mekong River from five different national and cultural perspectives. Set in the year 2030, they aim to both entertain and inspire audiences to actively protect this critical life source.

I Shall Never See You Again, Oh My Beloved Kampuchea (1991)

A short film, “I shall never see you again, oh my beloved Kampuchea”, was directed and scripted by the late His Majesty King Sihanouk, filmed in North Korea in 1991, depicts the Vietnamese annexation of Kampuchea Krom through the eyes of a Khmer Princes and classical dancer living in the Vietnamese palace.

Que la barque se brise, que la jonque s'entrouvre (2001)

A telefilm that describes the meeting between Cambodian restaurateur Bopha ("flower"), a survivor of the genocide of the Khmer Rouge, and a Vietnamese man named Mihn, a "boat people" refugee who drives a taxi at night and works as a deliveryman during the day for his uncle's grocery store.

Ten Thousand Sorrows (1970)

After the death of her mother, Nary decides to live her life independently, dressing and acting as a man in order to work at a taxi company, but Kosal soon finds out.

Angkor Wat Story - Beautiful Sadness (1958)

A Japanese artist (Ikebe), who had won the favor of the Cambodian royal family when he rescued their daughter during World War II, returns and falls for the now-grown princess, though neither realizes the other's identity.

Peakdey Snaeh (1973)

Pheakdey and her mother escape from the war area to live in Phnom Penh. They have no money, no job, no shelter, and no food. Her mother is sick and blinded by the war. Out of pity, a woman suggests that they live with her. She provides them with everything they need. But the woman is actually ill-intentioned and wants to sell Pheakdey to millionaires.

Inav Bosba (1968)

Inav, prince of Daha, refuses an arranged marriage with Bosba, princess of Aden. Things change when another king asks for Bosba's hand in marriage, threatening war if she refuses.

Thavory Meas Bong (1968)

Thavory and her big sister fall in love with the same man. Thavory marries him but falls into a dirty plot set up by her sister to drive her away.

The Time to Cry (1972)

Love triangle

Goodbye My Love (1989)

Story of a love triangle with a Cambodian delegation visiting North Korea.

See Angkor and Die (1993)

A young author with an incurable illness wishes to return to Angkor Wat to spend his final days, but his wife remains in Phnom Penh, sending a young cousin to go instead. While his wife makes plans to remarry, the young man and cousin fall in love.

Sangkum Banh Loloke (1970)

Based on the "dove hunters" fairy tale

Chnam Oun 16 (1993)

Musical with many classic songs

Tenement (2024)

Following her mother’s death, manga artist Sorya travels to her ancestral home in Phnom Penh, with hopes of reconnecting with her distant family and using the visit as inspiration for her work. All goes well initially. Renting an apartment in Metta, a rundown Khmer Rouge-era housing complex, her visit to her maternal relatives finds her welcomed with open arms. But Sorya’s waking hours in the apartment and its surroundings are punctuated by terrifying, bloody visions, almost as though she were a conduit for horrors of the past wanting to seep into the present.

15 Roch (2023)

The Snake Man (1972)

After an affair with the fabled Snake King, a woman gives birth to a son she names Veasna. After Veasna finds a wife, a witch curses their daughter to be born with snakes instead of hair.

Meeting with Pol Pot (2024)

Democratic Kampuchea (Cambodia) - 1978. Three French journalists are invited by the Khmer Rouge to conduct an exclusive interview of the regime's leader, Pol Pot. The country seems ideal. But behind the Potemkin village, the Khmer Rouge regime is declining and the war with Vietnam threatens to invade the country. The regime is looking for culprits, secretly carrying out a large scale genocide. Under the eyes of the journalists, the beautiful picture cracks, revealing the horror. Their journey progressively turns into a nightmare. Freely inspired by journalist Elizabeth Becker's account in When the war was over.

Le petit prince du peuple (1967)

In the 18th century, a young prince is crowned king of a small kingdom. He tries to rule justly, but is undermined by his cruel aunt.

Fathers (2020)

A father's heart is as big as the whole world, it is said. A disabled cycle trishaw driver who has lost a leg is lovingly raising his two children alone as their mother ran away. The little money he earns on the dirty streets of the pulsating city is just enough to survive. When the little son fell ill and had to go to the hospital, the desperate father could not afford the money for medical treatment. He now has to take on other jobs, collect rubbish from the street or donate blood. Meanwhile, a young, committed female doctor is taking care of the little boy, whose father, in turn, cannot understand that she is doing this "man's job". Based on a true story!

Duetto (2014)

Life is like a duet: you need the right half to make a performance beautiful.

White Building (2021)

SAMNANG, 20, faces the demolition of his lifelong home in Phnom Penh and the pressures from family, friends, and neighbors which arise and intersect in this moment of sudden change.

Coalesce (2022)

Songsa is 15 years old when his family decides to send him to Phnom Penh to sell clothes in a tuk tuk. Phearum borrowed money to buy a taxi in order to support his family. Thy, 20, has a dream: buying a big motorbike. When their paths cross, a new road merges.

The Heir of a Vanquished Secessionist (1996)

The Cambodian government of centuries ago must put an end to attempted secession.

I Want to Remember (1988)

A man's story of survival under Lon Nol's dictatorship, and the Khmer Rouge, and beyond

Further and Further Away (2022)

Before their impending departure for the capital city, two siblings first must bid farewell to the place they called home, each in their own way.

An Ambition Reduced to Ashes (1995)

A guru and his follower, who have lived in the ruins of Angkor for 150 years, return to the world to save the Cambodian people.