Synopsis

Happy Âphivoat portrays Cambodia’s economic development, shifting from an agricultural economy to an industrial economy, and its emerging working class.

After  five years of the “Khmers Rouges”  dictatorship witch brought the country back to the stone age, 10 years of civil war followed . After this, the country open’s itself to the market’s economy and a peace treaty in 1991 . After years of war , the country was completely destroyed: no more cadastre, only two official doctors in the country, nonexistent infrastructure…  Cambodia now enters in the worldwide capitalism, adopting more and more its codes , its culture, laws and objectifs?  The entire economy is focused on a single idea : export to grow more , In less than 20 years the textile factories went from 90 to 400, and make for 700 000 workers. 

During the winter of 2013 to 2014, the workers of the factories from the urbanPhnom Penh, capitole of the country, protest to claim a bigger salarie 

Those protest are quickly suppressed, then forbidden , in January 2014, the military police opens fire on protesters and 6 people died, The new Cambodia middle class start to acton a political level and  fight with their only weapon: protesting and mass strike.

In Cambodia  among the rice farmers of Battambang, they are those who struggle, those who became important land owners, those who tried to escape their situation and went to the capitol.  thirs also the arival of the combine harvester and those women who follow them and pick up the fews strands missed by the machines 

In Phnom Penh, in the shadows of the building towers and marketing signs, they are touristes in  Tuk-Tuk, the high class in their SUV, the homeless children and the workers who protest, the roads in constructions,the trucks filled with rice cross the path of the trucks filled with workers going to the factory. 

Some get out, Some don’t :« Happy Âphivoat Cambodia ! »