Mao Ayuth, filmmaker who survived the Khmer Rouge, dies at 76

The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Thursday, March 28, 2024


Mao Ayuth, filmmaker who survived the Khmer Rouge, dies at 76
Mao Ayuth in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Sept. 11, 2017. Ayuth, one of the few Cambodian filmmakers to survive the Khmer Rouge era, during which most artists and intellectuals were killed, and who then rose to become secretary of state in the Ministry of Information, died on April 15, 2021, in Phnom Penh, the Cambodian capital. He was 76. Quinn Ryan Mattingly/The New York Times.

by Seth Mydans



NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Mao Ayuth, one of the few Cambodian filmmakers to survive the Khmer Rouge era, during which most artists and intellectuals were killed, and who then rose to become secretary of state in the Ministry of Information, died on April 15 in Phnom Penh, the Cambodian capital. He was 76.

Phos Sovann, a spokesman for the ministry, said the cause was complications of COVID-19.

Mao Ayuth, who was also a novelist, poet and screenwriter, began his film career in the 1960s and early ’70s, in what became known as a golden age of Cambodian cinema. Filmmaking flourished under the country’s leader at the time, Prince Norodom Sihanouk, an avid cineaste who directed his own films.

Mao Ayuth’s first film was one of the last movies to reach the screen before the fanatical communist Khmer Rouge came to power in 1975 and tried to eradicate all aspects of culture, including education, the arts and religion.

The film, “Beth Phnek Hek Troung” (“Close My Eyes, Open My Heart”), was shot with a 16mm camera that had to be wound by hand between takes. Hugely popular at the time, it tells the story of a Cambodian businessman living in France who returns home when his twin brother dies; he then falls in love with his brother’s widow, who ultimately gives in to his advances.

Only one copy of the film was made, requiring it to be ferried from theater to theater by messenger. Its run lasted only a few weeks. Khmer Rouge forces were closing in on Phnom Penh — by some accounts the sound of artillery could be heard from within the theaters — and when the city fell on April 17, 1975, that single copy was lost.

Over nearly four years, as more than 1.7 million people were massacred, Mao Ayuth survived by hiding his background as an artist, pretending instead to be a wedding photographer.

He told his story in an interview in 2011 with Tilman Baumgärtel, a journalist and professor of media theory at the University of Applied Sciences in Mainz, Germany, who also taught for a time at the Royal University of Phnom Penh.

After a Vietnamese invasion drove the Khmer Rouge from power in 1979, Mao Ayuth returned to his craft, but by then Phnom Penh was a ghost town. There were no cinemas and no funding for filmmaking equipment.

It would be about another decade before his second film was screened, in 1988. That movie, “Chet Chong Cham” (“I Want To Remember”), a story of survival during the previous decades of civil war and ruin, is told in flashbacks within flashbacks. It, too, proved popular among a people hungry to see scenes from their recent past.




The Cambodian movie industry then experienced what may have been the fastest growth and quickest decline of any in the world. At its peak, the industry produced 167 films in 1990; the number dropped to just 31 in 1994.

One reason was competition from flashier foreign films; another was the advent of television in Cambodia. But the main cause was film piracy. As soon as a film was screened, it would be pirated and taken home on discs. The absence of strong copyright laws continues to debilitate Cambodian cinema.

Mao Ayuth’s most popular film, “Ne Sat Kror Per” (“The Crocodile”), in 2005, was based loosely on his childhood memories of crocodile hunters, telling the story of a hunt for the mythical Crocodile King.

He was born on July 8, 1944, in Kampong Cham province, in the central lowlands. His father, Men Thoeung, was a commune official. His mother was Tai Sing.

After attending a scriptwriting program in the early 1960s, Mao Ayuth worked at Cambodia’s first television station, starting as a production assistant and rising to news director.

A decade later he went to France with a stipend from the national television and radio agency. While on a vacation in the Swiss Alps, he used his hand-cranked camera to produce footage that became part of “Beth Phnek Hek Troung.” The winter scenes of mountains, ski lifts and tourists in fur hats were a thrill for Cambodians, who had never seen snow.

He is survived by his widow, So Samony; four daughters, Mao Bophany, Mao Moni Na, Mao Moni Neath and Mao Moni Roath; and one son, Mao Makara.

Mao Ayuth was appointed secretary of state in the Ministry of Information in 1993. He was also president of the Association of Television Stations of Cambodia.

He was recently selected by Prime Minister Hun Sen to create a film series about Hun Sen’s life as a poor village boy who rose to become one of the world’s longest-serving leaders, in power now for more than three decades.

Mao Ayuth was still working on the series at his death, regarding it as a distinct privilege.

“When it is for his honor, we must try hard,” he told reporters in January. “It is a huge honor that the top leader has put trust in us, so we must fulfill our obligations to meet his trust.”

© 2021 The New York Times Company










Today's News

April 22, 2021

New Tobin Collection of Theatre Arts exhibition opens at the McNay Art Museum

Documentary tells 'unknown' story of Titanic's Chinese survivors

Two ultra-rare bangles steal the show at Sotheby's Hong Kong

Covid-hit UK museum reopens early... as a supermarket

Xavier Hufkens opens an exhibition of new work by Daniel Buren

Häusler Contemporary opens an exhibition of works by Richard Allen Morris

Philip Mould & Company exhibits a group of exceptional Elizabethan and Jacobean portraits

New digital art space revealed in the Santa Fe Railyard

How a multimedia whiz seized digital theater's big moment

Mao Ayuth, filmmaker who survived the Khmer Rouge, dies at 76

Flowers Gallery reopens after a long lockdown in London with a new exhibition of recent works by Bernard Cohen

Rembrandt, Monet, Picasso & more in Old Master Through Modern Prints at Swann Galleries

Half a century later, John Lennon's 'Plastic Ono Band' still hits hard

From Op Art to NFTs, Heritage Auction's Modern & Contemporary event travels back to the future

MAD Architects unveils Cloudscape of Haikou

Selection of five classic Bentleys with VIP connections for sale by H&H Classics

The Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza opens the first retrospective in Spain of Georgia O'Keeffe's work

Pair of Chippendale mahogany side chairs bring $33,210 at Neue Auctions

Marianne Boesky Gallery now representing Celeste Rapone

Denmark's cafes, restaurants and museums reopen

Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami opens retrospective of artist Michael Richard

France ready to ease curfew, travel limits on May 2

Detroit Institute of Arts adds first surrealist painting by a woman artist

Art Bridges announces appointment of new Director of Art Bridges Fellows Program

Why choose to waterproof for your house or building?

What does a private detective do?

Clip art: Top 10 websites for free download

6 Essential Tips You Must Follow For Filing Online Divorce In Michigan

Everything about CBD for hair growth

7 Most Popular Online Gambling Games in Portugal

Baby Gates, A Great Way to Secure Your Art, Home & Pet




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez

sa gaming free credit
Attorneys
Truck Accident Attorneys
Accident Attorneys

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site Parroquia Natividad del Señor
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful