This is a mini-documentary I produced last year for my school. Enjoy.

Cambodia's first-ever movie about gay love, but second movie about homosexual love

Picture by Sok Chanphal

I was sort of amazed when I saw this new graphically designed poster of this first-ever movie about gay love “High School’s Love Story”. Cambodia nowadays seems to be into homosexual love, doesn’t it? Another movie about homosexual lovers hit Cambodia’s film market not long ago in April 2009, drawing thousands of audience. It was entitled “Who am I?” Mrs. Poan Phuong Bopha, the film’s writer,  said that her film was successful beyond what she expected. And I was one of the audience. I like the theme and how she structured the story. However, the producing process and stars ‘ performance, in my opinion, have not improved much. But well, it was really nice to look into a new angle of society, rather than disclose it.

Even in Clogosphere (Cambodian blogosphere), I notice there’s a growing trend of Khmer blogs about gay novels. I see Cambodian kids and youngsters are trying to express themselves through stories they write for others to see and also explain people difficulties of gays together with gays’ positions in society.  Gay novels they write are often sad because the characters, both men, always end up apart. Why? I used to read one American gay novel, which I found quite tasteful . Society apparently condemns gays and lesbians, but they are a minority of people needed to be heard.

For a quick look, go to read some stories by this kid who blogs in Khmer. And, this is a Khmer Gay Novels blog in English.

Certainly, I am going forward to watching “High School’s Love Story”. I don’t really think this is a new issue. Gays and lesbians have always been in Cambodia. I understand why they have been hiding themselves from society. A lot of discrimination is going on everywhere against homosexuals or same-sex lovers. Gays and lesbians should really have their own rights to express themselves in whatever way. Just because they are, like everybody else, human beings.