The Storm Makers

Directed by Guillarme Suon

Aya was a slave. At the age of 16, the young Cambodian peasant was sold to work as a maid in Malaysia, where she was exploited and beaten during two years without receiving any salary. Now that she has returned to her village just as poor as when she left, what is left of her humanity?

The Storm Makers traces modern-day slavery in Cambodia, by uncovering the fate of this young woman and following, in parallel, the daily lives of two human traffickers, a local recruiter and the head of a trafficking network. Cambodians call them « Mey Kechol »: The Storm Makers.

From the impoverished remote villages to the bustling urban centre of Phnom Penh, the film reveals a unique perspective on the exploitation of Cambodia’s rural population and questions what is the price of a life in a country experiencing uninhibited economic development.

Awards

Best Asian Documentary Film Award, Busan International Film Festival 2014

Special Mention Award, Salaya International Documentary Film Festival 2015

Full Frame Inspiration Award, Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2015

Nominated for Best Mid-Length Documentary, IDFA 2014

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