A Filmography of Norodom Sihanouk

Feature Movies

1. Tarzan Among the Kuoy. c. 1940. Producer, director, scriptwriter.
2. Double Crime on the Maginot Line. c. 1943. Producer, director, scriptwriter.
3. Apsara អប្សរា. 1966. Producer and director. First feature movie.
4. The Enchanted Forest (La forêt enchantée). 1966 – 7. Producer, director, scriptwriter, actor.
5. The Little Prince (Le Petit prince, ព្រះប្រជាកុមារ). 1967 Producer, director, scriptwriter. Golden Apsara Award at the 1968 Phnom Penh International Film Festival.
6. Shadows Over Angkor (Ombré sur Angkor, ស្រមោលលើអង្គរ).1968. Producer, director, scriptwriter, actor.
7. The Joy of Life (La Joie de Vivre, រឿង រស់ដោយសប្បាយ). 1968. Producer, director, scriptwriter.
8. Twilight (Crépuscule សន្ធិប្រកាស). 1969. Producer, director, scriptwriter, actor. Golden Apsara Award at the 1969 Phnom Penh International Film Festival.
9. Tragic Fate (Tragique destin, ជោគវាសនាសោកនាដកម្ម). 1969. Producer, director, scriptwriter.
10. Rose of Bokor (Rose de Bokor, ផ្កាកុលាបបូកគោ). 1969. Producer, director, scriptwriter, actor, musical score. Editing and sound in the D.P.R. of Korea. (1)
11. The Mysterious City (La cité mystérieuse). 1988. Director, scriptwriter. Filmed in North Korea.
12. Goodbye, My Love (Adieu mon amour). 1988. Director, scriptwriter. Filmed in the D.P.R. of Korea.
13. The Countess of Norkorom La comtesse de Nokorom. 1989. Director, scriptwriter. Filmed in North Korea.
14. I Shall Never See You Again, Oh My Beloved Kampuchea! (Je né te reverrai plus, ô mon bien-aimé Kampuchea!). 1991. Director, scriptwriter. Filmed in North Korea.
15. The Beacon That Lights Our Way (Le phare qui éclaire notre voie). 1991. Director, scriptwriter.
16. My Village at Sunset (Mon village au coucher du soleil).1992. Producer, director, scriptwriter. Prix Special at the Saint Petersburg Festival 1992.
17. The Champa Flower of Battambang (La fleur Champa de Battambang). 1992. Producer, director, scriptwriter.
18. The Phantom of My Beloved Wife (Le fantôme de ma femme bien-aimée). 1993. Producer, director, scriptwriter.
19. A Croesus Saviour of Poor Women (Un Cresus sauveteur de femmes pauvres). 1993. Producer, director, scriptwriter.
20. The Four Elements (Les quatres éléments).1993. Director. Ballet film.
21. See Angkor and Die (Revoir Angkor et mourir). 1993, 81 min [with San Chariya,Roland Eng Mam Kanika Sina Than. The title comes from one of King Sihanouk’s book]. Producer, director, scriptwriter.
22. Fatality (Fatalité). 1994. Producer, director, scriptwriter.
23. Farmers in Distress (Un paysan et une paysanne en détresse). 1994. Producer, director, scriptwriter.
24. Khmer Robin Hood (Robin des Bois Khmer). 1994. Producer, director, scriptwriter.
25. Nostalgia for China (Nostalgie de la Chine). 1995. Producer, director, scriptwriter.
26. An Ambition Reduced to Ashes (Une ambition réduite en cendres). 1995. Producer, director, scriptwriter.
27. Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, The Sole Refuge (Bouddha, Dharma, Sangha le seul refuge). 1995. Producer, director, scriptwriter.
28. The Last Days of Colonel Savath (Les derniers jours du Colonel Savath). 1995. Producer, director, scriptwriter.
29. An Apostle of Non-Violence (Un apôtre de la non-violence). 1997. Director, scriptwriter.
30. The Lake of Happiness (2005). Producer, director.
31. The Khmer Cid (Le Cid Khmer). 2005. Producer, director, scriptwriter, subtitle author. Last released movie.
32. Flamary and Atsouke (with North Korean actors) – 2006. [can be screened at Bophana Center Phnom Penh]
33. Commander of the Royal Order of Koh Daung. 2006. Producer, director.
34. Four Wives Are Not Such Fun. 2006. Producer, director.
35. Who Doesn’t Have a Mistress? (2) 2006. 00:12:46. Producer, director.
36. Miss Asina. 2006 Producer. Last movie.

Researcher Gabor Sebo has shared with us his list of King Sihanouk’s movies made or planned to be made in North Korea (**: unfinished projects), with title in Korean:

1. The Mysterious City (La cité mystérieuse, 1988), Dir. Norodom Sihanouk, Cambodia (with the co-assistance of the DPRK): Khémara Pictures – Chosŏn yesul yŏnghwa ch’waryŏngso (uncredited). [11 in our list]
2. The Countess of Nokorom (La comtesse de Nokorom, 1989), Dir. Norodom Sihanouk, Cambodia (with the co-assistance of the DPRK): Khémara Pictures – Chosŏn yesul yŏnghwa ch’waryŏngso (uncredited). [13 in our list]
3. Good-bye, My Love (Adieu mon amour, 1989), Dir. Norodom Sihanouk, Cambodia (with the co-assistance of the DPRK): Khémara Pictures – Chosŏn yesul yŏnghwa ch’waryŏngso (uncredited). [12 in our list]
4. **Mondulkiri (scheduled to be filmed in 1990 in North Korea but never realized), Cambodia.
5. I Shall Never See You Again, Oh, my Beloved Kampuchea! (Je né te reverrai plus, ô mon bien-aimé Kampuchea!, 1991), Dir. Norodom Sihanouk, Cambodia (with the co-assistance of the DPRK): Khémara Pictures – Chosŏn yesul yŏnghwa ch’waryŏngso (uncredited). [14 in our list]
6. The Khmer Cid (Le Cid Khmer, scheduled to be filmed in 1991 in North Korea, realized in 2005 in Cambodia), Dir. Norodom Sihanouk, Cambodia: Khémara Pictures. [31 in our list]
7. **Our Wedding at Mount Baiktou (scheduled to be filmed in North Korea in 1992 but never realized), Cambodia.
8. The Lake of Happiness – 2005, 9 min. [30 in our list]
9. Flamary and Atsouke (with North Korean actors) – 2006. [can be screened at Bophana Center Phnom Penh]. [32 in our list]
10. Reborn – 2006 (no information on this movie on the web)
11. Who does not have a Mistress? – 2006, 12 min. [35 in our list]
    

“I beg Your Majesties not to annex Kampuchea Krom”: a Khmer princess pleads with the Vietnamese sovereigns in Je né te reverrai plus… (screen capture).

Documentaries

• Cambodge-Kampuchea 1965 (1965)
• Cortège Royal (1969)
• សារមន្ទីព្រះបាទនរោត្តម សីហនុ King Norodom Sihanouk presents the Preah Sihanouk Museum at the Royal Palace. Khemara Pictures, nd, 31:51.

Songs, Musical Scores

• Regret (1965).
• Monica (1966), song composed by King Sihanouk in 1953.
• Monica (2002); this version is even more powerful and moving thanks to the radiant presence of star singer Khemarak Srey Pov, who prematuraly passed away in 2018.
• Summer Kisses, Winter Tears, composed and sung by King Sihanouk (2002).
• Phnom Penh, for orchestra (1957).
• Score for La foret enchantée (1966).
• The Night I Met You, by HRH Prince Norodom Sihanouk (arranged by Filipino composer Leopoldo Silos).
• Chérie (1967).
• Amour sans espoir (Hopeless Love) (1968, performed by the late King in 2006).
• Nostalgia for China ស្រណោះប្រទេសចិន (2006, performed by the late King). Subtitles in Khmer, Chinese, English.
• Music and Songs composed by HM Norodom Sihanouk performed for his birthday (2009).
• Goodbye, Cambodia លាហើយកម្ពុជា។ (2009, performed by the late King).
• Phnom Penh Fantasy for violin and piano (world première of arrangement of Phnom Penh, song by Norodom Sihanouk, by Johann Kim (2014).

Gala concert for King Norodom Sihanouk Centennial Anniversary, 6 – 7 Nov. 2022, Chaktomuk Theater, Phnom Penh (photo ADB)

Documentaries About Norodom Sihanouk as a Filmmaker

• Norodom Sihanouk, Roi Cinéaste (1997, FR/ENG/KH), directed by Jean-Baptiste Martin, presented by Frédéric Mitterrand.
• An Official Biography of HM Norodom Sihanouk (nd), a Khemara Pictures production. Part I and II.
• The Nine Lives of Norodom Sihanouk (Les neuf vies de Norodom Sihanouk) (2008, FR/ENG), directed by Gilles Cayatte. [Harshly critical and often biased documentary on King Sihanouk’s political career].
• The Curious History of Cambodia’s Beloved Kings (2021), a Real Royalty-Off the Fence production.

(1) See Rose de Bokor original synopsis and cast (courtesy of Ambassador Julio Jeldres and Anicca Foundation).

(2) According to the lore of Cambodian cultural circles, the idea of this short movie was given to King Sihanouk in March 2006, when the affair between his son Prince Norodom Ranariddh and famed classical Khmer dancer Ouk Phalla triggered a national controversy. Princess Norodom Vacheara, who thought these matters should not be part of the public debate, dismissed the outcry with the remark: ​“Who does not have a mistress?”. The King-Father liked this bon mot so much that he instructed his then-secretary, Prince Sisowath Thomico, to broach a script on the theme of mistresses. Ten years later, when the film was released, Prince Thomico reportedly commented: ““The purpose of the movie is to say that every Cambodian has a mistress…no fuss should be made about having a mistress in Cambodia, that is a very natural thing.” Note that another princess, Princess Sisowath Kalyan Devi, played the main female character.

The brochure on Rose de Bokor issued by Anicca Foundation in 2019 (photo DR)

Prince Sihanouk and Princess Monineath in Twilight (screen capture)

Cambodian movie star Dy Saveth, who starred in Shadows Over Angkor (1968), with two actors at Moscow International Film Festival, 1969.