An abandoned cinema’s former spirit guardian wanders through rapidly transformed landscapes to reach her rebirth. Shocked by the world’s brutality, she must decide whether to become human again or remain a homeless ghost. Original Title Chiet Chea Manusa Year of production 2025 Length 99' CountryCambodia Shooting Format Digital Aspect Ratio 1.85:1 Dialogue Khmer
DirectorPolen Ly Production Company Anti-Archive Producer Daniel Mattes Executive Producer Natalyn Ang (Minri Media) Associate ProducersDavy Chou, Danech San, Kavich Neang (Anti-Archive); Son Doan, Perrine Wens (Camescoop); Loy Te, Vincent Villa (Kongchak Pictures); Tan Si En (Momo Film Co) Writer Polen Ly Director of Photography Son Doan Production DesignerBandiddh Prum EditorKavich Neang Sound Designer/Mixer Vincent Villa Music Composers Jean-Charles Bastion, Pierre Édouard Dumora Costumes Sreynoch Khun, Sovetornn Chea Line Producer Sreylin Meas Cast Savorn Serak, Piseth Chhun
A project developed in the Biennale College-Cinema with the support of a grant by La Biennale di Venezia.
Festival selections Venice International Film Festival 2025 - World Premiere Busan International Film Festival 2025, South Korea Festival International du Film Francophone de Namur 2025, Belgium BFI London Film Festival 2025, UK Hong Kong Asian Film Festival 2025 Jakarta Film Week 2025, Indonesia Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival 2025, Taiwan Singapore International Film Festival 2025 Jogja-Netpac Asian Film Festival 2025, Indonesia - Golden Hanoman Award, NETPAC Award Transcinema Festival Internacional de Cine 2025, Peru Director's Statement Writing Becoming Human was like a meditative journey. It allowed me to reflect on what it means to be a human in a landscape that has gone through trauma and transformation throughout the past and until the present day. I imagined a fantasy universe to explore the real situation around me. My parents’ generation lived through a genocide which completely swallowed the life, freedom, and dreams of many people. My generation today is said to be living in peace, but throughout my filmmaking journey, I have witnessed the loss of homes, dreams, voices, and natural landscapes from different unjust forms of development and change. The continuous repetition of destruction and rebuilding have become a vicious cycle. I feel like I have been stuck in a bubble, where people remain haunted by both past and present traumas, with the lingering fear which has silenced our voices and left our wounds unhealed. However, as a filmmaker in the present day, I want to use my voice to focus not only on past trauma or nostalgia, but to ask and emphasize what does it mean to be a human who carries the past, present, and future within them always. In Becoming Human, I develop the interconnection of the lead characters from two different generations. They both share a similar fragility and they learn from one another. Each character is faced with a choice to move forward to the next stage of life. Their shared hope and care provide them with the strength to move forward. In this traumatic landscape where echoes of the past repeat again and again, finding that capacity to thrive with one another, with compassion, that’s probably what it means to be human.
