People still remember Taste of Life, a TV drama about HIV, supported by BBC. It was broadcasted on TV5 and TVK for sometime ago. The educational message was well diffused to the audiences. The project was finished. But the crew of Taste of Life is still here, in the middle of this lovely and crowed city. They waited to act; they wait to produce more good movies for Cambodia.

To response to this demand, Matthew Robinson, The project manager of Taste of Life have invited the team to join his own production company, Khmer Mekong Films, he had set up with British consultants, Bill Broomfield and Christopher Moss. In 2007, they finished “Staying Single When”, a romantic comedy about a man who looks for a wife. It was recognized by many critics to be the first good movie from Cambodia with the good performance and real voices of the actors.

Somehow the benefit from the movie is still not yet up enough to what the production has expected. Refer to the survey by Kirstin Wille, to bring more success to the Cambodian market, the price of the ticket should be cheaper and the budget for advertising should be more important than what they have done for “Staying Singe When”.

“Heart Talk” is the second movie that they just finished the shooting. It’s a pacy contemporary thriller about three attractive female presenters at a chic but troubled Phnom Penh radio station. Two, Chantha and Kim, disappear as the story progresses, possibly murdered. The third, Maly, receives threats and feels her life is constantly in danger. The story is devised to keep audiences guessing “who-dun-it” until the last moment.

I have asked some questions to Matthew Robinson, Executive Producer of Khmer Mekong Films, and he is so kind to reply me quickly as you can read at the rest of this article.

Khmerbird: Will “Heart Talk” release in any cinema in Phnom Penh?

KMF: Yes, we hope so. But there’s still a lot of work to do on the post-production, and pre-release audience tests, before making definite plans. We’re planning our 1st audience test at the Meta House, Phnom Penh, on Saturday 20 September at 7.00 p.m. You’re welcome to join the pre-test audience but, be warned, it will spoil the story for you when the completed movie is released.

Khmerbird: I really like “Staying Single When” due to the simplicity of the subject and good humor and it seems like all characters found their way to express themselves. Do you expect “Heart Talk” will get more success than “Staying Single When” ?

KMF: It’s a different movie completely: different genre; different pace; different story; different setting; different writer; different cast (apart from Pov Kisan – he plays completely different roles). We hope the audience will enjoy Heart Talk in a different way from Staying Single When but we also hope they will appreciate the same things about the quality.

Khmerbird: I watched at youtube the behind scene of “Heart Talk”, it’s fantastic. Do all the real voices were recorded at the scene or double at the studio? I guess it’s hard to record directly from the scene, I heard the sound and noise came from everywhere. LOL, I saw the cat at a scene. I imagine anything could happen at the location .;-)

KMF: We try to record as much real voice on location as possible. But sometimes, as you say, it’s very difficult or impossible to achieve sound that’s acceptable because the city is so noisy. So then we bring the actors into the studio for voice-over sessions. But always the same actor. We never dub a different voice onto an actor unless the actor’s voice hasn’t sounded good.

Khmerbird: I posted the link at my blog and many people ask me if the DVD of “Staying Single When” will be available soon?

KMF: We will not release the DVD of Staying Single When until after the cinema release of Heart Talk. This is our strategy. You’ll have to make do with YouTube until then. Sorry.

Khmerbird: I think it’s all for now, thank you for your time to answer the questions, I hope and wait for the premiere of “Heart Talk”, and I will do a full review of the movie again after I see the movie. Thank again.

Tagged as: Cambodia, Khmer Mekong Films, Thriller