Skip to main content
Further and Further Away film image, director Polen Ly

Further and Further Away

Chhngai Dach Alai / ឆ្ងាយដាច់អាល័យ

Canadian Premiere

A young Bunong woman and her older brother spend one last day in their rural Cambodian village before a move to the city in search of a more prosperous life. This is an almost documentary-like look at two very different people: he is an unsympathetic realist whereas she is connected to nature and spirituality. It’s a relaxed and languid observational drama about the distances—both metaphorical and literal—that exist within our lives, our surroundings, and how we view our ancestry. The beautiful scenery, the landscapes of solitude, and an overall feeling of despair and hope combined are evoked with very little dialogue. The film is reminiscent of Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Memoria, unspooling information through beautiful camerawork and an intricate but unadorned sound design.

 

Community Partner

Director
Cast

Bopha Oul, Phanny Loem

Credits
Country of Origin

Cambodia

Year

2022

Language

In Bunong and Khmer with English subtitles

Film Contact
24 min

Featured in:

Mumu film image

International Shorts: Family Ties

The bonds of family form the basis of this program of short films. Bonds with history and responsibility—sometimes close, sometimes strained—now and for the future.

 

MORE INFO

Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre

The Wedding Banquet

Dir. Andrew Ahn
103 min

This joyful comedy cleverly updates Ang Lee's 1993 gay marriage comedy and transports the action to contemporary Seattle (actually, Vancouver).

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Tornado

Dir. John Maclean
91 min

Scotland in the 1790s, travelling circus samurai Tornado (Kōki) runs afoul of a band of murderous brigands led by Tim Roth and his ambitious son, Jack Lowden. Mayhem ensues.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Two Women

Dir. Chloé Robichaud
100 min

In this light-hearted, emancipatory take on a classic sex farce, two neglected married women discover the joys of casual sex and get their plumbing fixed.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre
Nechako: It Will Be a Big River Again
Nechako: It Will Be a Big River Again film; overhead shot of churning water

Nechako: It Will Be a Big River Again

Dir. Lyana Patrick
91 min

In the face of environmental destruction, two Nations fight to restore their river and a way of life.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Fairy Creek

Dir. Jen Muranetz
86 min

Considered the largest act of civil disobedience in Canadian history, the Fairy Creek blockade led to more than 1200 arrests. What Jen Muranetz's film gives us is the story from the front line from the activists' point of view (often, from the treetops).

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Alfred Hitchcock's The Lodger

Dir. Alfred Hitchcock
98 min

When a stranger rents a room from model Daisy and her mum and dad, her policeman boyfriend becomes suspicious... Presented with an original live score by Chris Gestrin, the first signature Hitchcock movie is loosely based on the Jack The Ripper murders.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Credits

Producer

Sophea Kim, Daniel Mattes, Davy Chou

Screenwriter

Polen Ly

Cinematography

Polen Ly

Editor

Kavich Neang

Director

Polen Ly headshot, Further and Further Away director

Polen Ly

Polen Ly paused his studies in medicine to pursue his filmmaking path in 2012. He has directed several shorts and documentaries which explore social issues related to the environment and human rights, including LGBT+ and Indigenous experiences. His short film Colourful Knots (2015) won first prize at Tropfest South East Asia in Malaysia. In 2018, Ly joined the Asian Film Academy in Busan, Korea. His documentary short, Side by Side (2021), was selected in the Open Doors section at Locarno Film Festival. Ly is now in early production on his first full-length documentary, The Tongue of Water.