It ProjectList

Lake of Stars

Country		Cambodia
Director		Jake WACHTEL
Producer		Visal SOK, Mary OLSEN
Writer		Jake WACHTEL
Production Company
Format		DCP \| Color \| 100min
Genre		Sci-Fi, Drama, Environmental

Synopsis

Near future, Cambodia. Climate disasters have reshaped the world, driving people to embrace sustainability and adaptability. Dara, ambitious and space-obsessed, loses her engineering job in the city and returns to her floating village, where little sister Kiri farms algae. Unexpectedly chosen for a space mission, Dara's newfound opportunity sparks a heated conflict with Kiri, who believes the “space stuff” a distraction from the real work of healing the planet. Will their once-inseparable bond endure their differing ideologies and the vast expanse of space?

Director

Jake WACHTEL

Jake Wachtel, a US filmmaker, started with short documentaries for nonprofits in the global south. He moved to Cambodia in 2014 to teach filmmaking to kids. His debut feature, Karmalink (Venice Critics Week '21), is Cambodia's first sci-fi film, shot with mostly Cambodian talent, including former students, in the community where he taught.

Producer

Visal SOK

Sok Visal, a French-Cambodian filmmaker, directed/produced In The Life of Music (Cambodia's entry to 2019 Academy Awards) and Poppy Goes to Hollywood (Busan IFF '17) among others. He served as Line Producer on the celebrated French series The Bureau. He founded 802 Films to create original, inspiring Cambodian content across media, and KlapYaHandz, the country's first hip hop label.

Mary OLSEN

A Korean-American producer with Norwegian residency, Mary takes a global perspective to her projects. Working in Features and TV, Narrative and Doc. Including: Coalesce (Cannes Acid, BIFF 2020), The 2nd Repatriation (Best Doc Award Jeonju IFF), Asian Women (TV Doc series for Asia Media Corp- 2010). Seasoned business executive, currently a Managing Director of MKI Investment & Development, Norway.

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Lake of Stars

Lake of Stars

Synopsis

Director

Producer