International Agreement Set To Expand Film Production Services In Cambodia

The latest in a series of French co-production agreements has recently been signed by the Cambodian Film Commission and is expected to help the Southeast Asian nation play a greater role in the global film industry.

Cambodia has proved a much-coveted filming location for producers and set designers looking for an accessible place to shoot exotic and tropical backdrops. The new agreement makes it much easier for Cambodian film production services to become involved in large international projects, and has paved the way for a number of joint projects between the two nations.

Since signing similar treaties with other countries in the region, Frenchdirectors have cast their net further afield, filming in countries with scenery that’s largely unique throughout the world and where production expertise can help achieve a particular look and feel to a finished piece of film.

The 2014 adaptation of Francois Bizot’s original historical memoir of Khmer Rouge Cambodia is set to be one of the first international collaborations with France. The film will be directed by the French filmmaker Regis Wargnier and shot entirely on location in the jungle covered backcountry of Cambodian Indochina.

The Cambodian minister of fine arts, PhoeungSakona, has hailed the agreement as a step forward for the country where a burgeoning industry has thrived in recent years off the back of international investment and growing global interest in the region. The increased international revenue and custom gained from less bureaucracy between foreign filmmakers and the domestic Cambodian film production services industry forms one of the central aspects of the deal, and it’s hoped that more and more co-production projects will now be possible between the two countries.