Boreak was six when he lost his right arm in a landmine accident. Family members rushed the child to a nearby hospital where so-called “doctors” performed a crude amputation. Unable to cope with the stress of handling a crippled son, his parents decided to send him to a home for young landmine victims. Despite his tragedy, Boreak is refreshingly lacking in self-pity. Like most children he is mischievous and inquisitive and rarely acts as if his disability is a hindrance. This film looks at the world through Boreak’s eyes. It is a world at once bleak and brimming with possibilities. We follow him as he explores a rapidly changing Cambodia. We also meet Aki Ra, a former child soldier, trained by the Khmer Rouge army to lay landmines. Now in his 30s, Aki Ra is haunted by his past and hopes to make amends by giving children like Boreak a home, and helping remove the millions of landmines still buried in his country.

Sceneggiatura / Screenplay Lynn Lee, James Leong
Fotografia (colore) / Photography (colour) James Leong
Montaggio / Editing James Leong
Suono / Sound James Leong
Produzione / Production Lynn Lee
Anno di produzione / Year of production 2007
Durata / Running time 56 min.
Formato / Format HD

James Leong, Lynn Lee

James Leong and Lynn Lee are based in Singapore but travel extensively across Asia making documentaries. Passabe, their first theatrical feature, was awarded a grant from the Sundance Institute Documentary Fund. It has screened at festivals all over the world and made its TV premiere on ARTE Television in January 2007. Aki Ra’s Boys is their second feature. They recently completed their third film, Homeless FC, a documentary about Hong Kong’s Homeless Football Team.