Lin and Earth and Us
Earth and Us is a short film to be directed by Sreylin Meas, also known as Lin. The film centers around a house title dispute between a grandma and her five daughters. While many traditional narratives depict disputes as male-dominated affairs, Lin seeks to challenge that norm. Drawn from personal experiences in her own family, Lin paints a lively and chaotic yet nuanced portrait of these women, revealing their complex relationships as they navigate the familial tensions of resentment and love.
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Earth and Us marks Lin’s second short film following her directorial debut California Dreaming in 2019. Previously, California Dreaming was completely backed by your support via our successful ECHOES FROM TOMORROW campaign to finance three short films by first-time female filmmakers. Then and now, short films remain difficult to finance, particularly independent short films that are free from any studio demands or product placements.
That is why Anti-Archive is asking for your support. This ensures that Lin retains the full creative control and artistic vision over Earth and Us. To give Lin the chance and space to create a personal work from a female perspective on women navigating the intricacies of their family dynamics.
To secure the initial funding for Earth and Us, the indie Cambodian production company Anti-Archive has invested 3,000 USD to offset the pre-production expenses. We’ve also been fortunate to receive in-kind support of another 2,000 USD from several donors. Even then, it hasn’t covered half the budget. Even when we tighten the budget as much as possible, it’s still a film about a big family with several cast members, and that brings added costs. That’s why we’re seeking your support to help us raise the final 9,000 USD (8,300 Euros) needed to complete the film.
Pre-Production Updates
Immediately after finishing her script, Lin has dedicated herself to the casting process which involves a lot of middle-aged women from diverse backgrounds – cleaners, vendors, housewives, and movie extras. What makes this process truly special is how Lin spotlights not only often-overlooked women in our lives but their “extra” roles in the film industry, too.
In completing Lin’s dream of an all-female main cast and key crew, she will team up with Martika Ramirez Escobar, a Filipino cinematographer and director, as the film’s director of photography. With the number of cast and goals for the artistic vision, we believe that only additional funding can propel Lin’s efforts forward.
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Lin’s first film, California Dreaming, focuses on two women who escape their mundane lives after meeting by chance at a seaside resort. In Earth and Us, Lin sets out to direct a cast of seven women whose lives revolve around home, reflecting their simultaneous desires and inability to escape from their family. Being away from the fictional director’s chair for five years, Lin feels totally ready to direct her most ambitious and most personal work yet.
To achieve this, she needs your support to build a trusted film crew and team of collaborators.
About Anti-Archive
Anti-Archive is a Cambodian film production company created in 2014 by filmmakers Davy Chou, Steve Chen, and Kavich Neang, with Park Sungho and Daniel Mattes joining later.
Anti-Archive produces and co-produces fiction and documentary films by the emerging, new generation of Cambodian filmmakers. The founders recognized the need for film production infrastructure in this part of Southeast Asia to support young independent filmmakers, some of whom have since shown their first works internationally.
Films produced and co-produced by Anti-Archive have premiered and received awards at festivals around the world, including Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Locarno, Busan, Rotterdam, and Torino.
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About Sreylin
Sreylin Meas (b. 1989) has had her hands on nearly every aspect of filmmaking since 2009. She was the first assistant director to Kavich Neang on White Building (2021), a feature film which had its world premiere in Venice Film Festival and has since garnered many international awards. In 2015, she served as the on-set acting coach and second assistant director to Davy Chou on Diamond Island. Her extensive direction assistance, casting and production experience includes roles on the sets of Gems on the Run by Sok Visal and Quentin Clausin (2013), Dream Land by Steve Chen (2015), Turn Left Turn Right by Douglas Seok (2016), New Land Broken Road by Kavich Neang (2018), Happy Ending by Elodie Yung (2023), and many other short and feature projects.
She served as the location manager on Arthur Harari’s Onoda: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle (2021). Just last year, Lin took on the role of the Cambodian unit production manager for the Hollywood film The Creator (2023) by Gareth Edwards.
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Lin's first short film, California Dreaming (2019), which portrays the encounter of two women from different backgrounds, won her a Special Mention at Singapore International Film Festival and was selected in more than 20 festivals.
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In 2021, Lin directed three music-videos for Sin Setsochhata, the granddaughter of the legendary singer Sin Sisamuth.
About the Producers
Davy Chou is a French Cambodian director and producer, based between Paris and Phnom Penh. Chou directed the 2011 documentary Golden Slumbers, which explored the lost memory of Cambodian cinema in the 1960s before its destruction by the Khmer Rouge. In 2016, his Cambodia-set first feature, Diamond Island, was awarded the SACD Prize at Cannes Critics’ Week. Davy Chou’s second feature, Korea-set Return to Seoul, was selected at Cannes Un Certain Regard in 2022. The film was shortlisted for the Oscars’ Best International Feature Film as Cambodia’s official entry. Davy Chou was part of the jury of Cannes Un Certain Regard in 2023.
With Anti-Archive, Chou has produced the works of Cambodian directors such as Kavich Neang, Danech San, Sreylin Meas, Ly Polen and Guillaume Suon. He also produced Doi Boy by Thai director Nontawat Numbenchapol (2023) and co-produced Cambodia-set international production Onoda - 10,000 Nights in the Jungle by Arthur Harari (Oscar-winning co-writer of Anatomy of a Fall), which opened Cannes Un Certain Regard in 2021. Davy Chou initiated the ‘Echoes From Tomorrow’ project, which accompanied first-time female Cambodian directors in making their first short films.
Daniel Mattes is an American-born producer and partner at the Cambodian production company Anti-Archive. He first joined as a co-writer and associate producer for White Building (2021), director Kavich Neang’s first feature film which later won the Orizzonti Award for Best Actor at the 2021 Venice Film Festival. He also produced Kavich Neang’s documentary Last Night I Saw You Smiling (2019), Nontawat Numbenchapol’s debut feature film, Doi Boy (2023), and short films from Kavich Neang, Danech San, Polen Ly, Boren Chhith, and Chheangkea. He manages Anti-Archive’s distribution and communications, and he supports the company’s other initiatives, including the Southeast Asia cinema magazine MARG1N, the Kampung Film Festival, and Karre Mouy, a lab for new Cambodian producers. He has also served as producing mentor for Purin Short Film Camp 2022 in Bangkok and Objectifs x Momo Short Film Incubator 2024 in Singapore. He is now developing the debut feature films from Danech San and Polen Ly, including recently taking part in Venice’s Biennale College Cinema program.
How will we use the money?
Lin has locked her actresses, gathered her crew, and initiated several rounds of rehearsals. She has also locked the location for the family’s house.
If we have the chance to reach our goal, the camera should be able to roll in our locked dates from 9-12 November!
All the funds will be used to invest in professional equipment, crew, and post-production services. Short films in Cambodia are often shot in 1-2 rushed days, but we committed this time to offer 4 days of shooting to Lin, in order to have her really dig into the work with her cast, but also to protect their energy, since one of the main protagonists (the grandma) is over 70. This budget will give Lin the time and resources to realize her vision. It will also allow us to access professional post-production services for editing, sound mixing, and color grading.
By supporting this project, even in a symbolic way or by sharing this campaign with your own networks, you will contribute to a unique project which creates a momentum for female filmmakers to create their stories, express their perspectives, and build a feminist narrative.
Thank you for your support! Stay tuned.
