The White Building in Phnom Penh, a large municipal apartment block originally built in 1963, emptied by the Khmer Rouge, and subsequently the centre of a thriving artistic community, has been sold to Japanese developers and is scheduled for demolition. Filmmaker Kavich Neang—himself born and raised in the building—returns to interview fellow residents as they pack up their belongings and prepare for eviction. Neang interweaves their reflections and reminiscences with the turbulent national history to which the building has borne witness—the original tenants having been evacuated during the Cambodian genocide of the 1970s—invoking the ghosts of the past that still reside within the building’s walls.

In partnership with Day for Night

UK Premiere

Followed by a Q&A with producer Daniel Mattes

Read an essay on Last Night I Saw You Smiling by May Adadol Ingawanij

“Nominated for the Emerging International Filmmaker Award Kavich NEANG (1987, Cambodia) studied Music and Dance before graduating in Design in 2013. In 2010, he directed his first short film, A Scale Boy, as part of a documentary film workshop led by filmmaker Rithy Panh, who also produced his 2013 mid-length documentary film Where I Go. In 2014, he co-founded the independent production company Anti-Archive. His third short fiction, New Land Broken Road (2018), is part of a Southeast Asian omnibus which premiered in Singapore.”