Alcohol consumption in Cambodia has increased five-fold over the past two decades, with beer being the biggest driver. The Southeast Asian country has no legal drinking age and few, rarely enforced, alcohol guidelines, making it the Wild East for local and global breweries.
Cambodian beer dreamsThe new documentary from Lauritz Nansen (Welcome to the front line, Emily Meng – The investigation that went wrong, The city where children disappear), now explores a mix of factors that play a role beyond much of the world’s eyes and raises all kinds of ethical questions. “Through aggressive marketing, young beer girls, and promises of cash prizes, poor residents are encouraged to drink more and more alcohol—sometimes to the point of death,” the press noted in highlights of the film, for example.
in Cambodian beer dreamsworld premiering at the Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival CPH:DOX on Thursday, March 12, follows Nansen Kim Eng, a lone activist standing up to the beer industry and “neo-colonial alcohol capitalism” in his fight for a national alcohol law.
The public can find out what the director sees and hears on this journey in the F:act Prize section of the Danish festival, whose 23rd edition takes place from March 11 to 22. But you can expect Cambodian beer girlsproduced by Malin Flindt Pedersen of Hansen & Pedersen and Signe Skov Thomsen, delves into dreams, such as promises of money, success, and life as a party, and nightmares, including threatening telephones and roaming hands.
Nansen spoke to THR About how he came to be made Cambodian beer dreamsincluding his personal experiences, the universal themes behind his exploration of the alliances between power and money, and how he attempts to take audiences inside the heads of alcoholics.
I had no idea about the rapid growth of the beer industry in Cambodia and the risks involved. How did you know about this and decide to make a film about it?
I wanted to write a story about alcohol because it affects so many people, and I wanted to look at the forces that drive and shape the way we view alcohol. In Denmark and Europe in general, you almost don’t see the problem, because it is so big and rooted in our culture. So I needed to find a new angle on this, so we could think about it.
I started doing a lot of research and then I found Cambodia and saw that they didn’t have a national alcohol law, and alcohol consumption was booming, and that was very interesting to me. So I just bought a plane ticket to go there with my camera. I had an idea of what this story could look like, but when I arrived in Phnom Penh in 2022, I was still very surprised. I felt like the beer had a bigger effect than I expected.
In Phnom Penh and other cities, there were a lot of beer commercials. In many places, there are more than street signs. It’s not in the movie, but Kim Eng and I were driving down the road, and he was making beer commercials. Arrived at 46 km by car. They also use the stamp on beer cans and bottles – you can win a motorcycle or thousands of dollars with that.
The idea of linking gambling with alcoholism [market to] The very poor residents made me ask a lot of questions. What’s going on here? What prompted this development?
I heard that you also have personal experiences with the dangers of alcohol in your family?
Yes. Like many Danes and Europeans, I have a history with this. My father died [after several years of alcohol abuse]. But I didn’t want to tell a personal story about it. I wanted to know more about the larger structures behind this so everyone could relate to it.
For me, it’s always about chasing the bigger story to find out what drives it and how it impacts morality, ethics and human behavior. When you have these two parallel forces together, alcohol and raw capitalism, it’s very powerful. Both forces are very strong and very wild. So, what happens when you unleash them like two wild animals?
Speaking of the bigger story: There are all kinds of global angles to the story you’re telling…
Yes, I hope the film has international aspects. I hope people can see that it’s not just a film about Cambodia and beer, but a lens for our times and the future as well. Cambodia is a laboratory for observing what happens when authoritarian regimes and big corporations forge alliances in a way that benefits them economically and at the level of power, but is not necessarily beneficial to the people.
Dreams and their destruction are also a theme in the film. Cambodian people are friendly and hardworking people, and there are people who dream of a better life and a better future. Somehow, these dreams and hopes are being used and corrupted to sell something. In this sense, it is not just a story about making beer, but the fact that simple goods can be used to shape people and society.
Market forces are not neutral. They have consequences. They shape people, and it can be very profound when profit trumps morality. So, it’s not an anti-beer or anti-alcohol film. I love a good IPA myself. It has more to do with its size and ethics.
Your document touches on how Carlsberg went out of business with high prices, but focused on another area that raises questions...
Instead, they focus more on young people, which is another problem. Because they wouldn’t do that in their home country, right? Yes. A large portion of the Cambodian population is very young. And if you’re in the marketing department, you look at the population numbers and you know what to do. But again, it raises ethical questions. But no one is watching – unless you go there with a camera.
Did you know about using “beer girls” to entice people to drink more before you arrive in Cambodia? Hearing what their work entailed was shocking.
I already knew about it because of Carlsberg. There have been reports in the Danish press about beer girls and the way they treat them.
How did you approach the aesthetics of the film, from the drinking and partying scenes to the serious issues and booze-themed segments?
We wanted to make a film where you see the hopes and dreams, but also the tensions and sense of fear that an alcoholic might feel. Sometimes we get into the mind of the alcoholic in the film, where you’re kind of stuck and can’t get out. I wanted to describe this duality, the energy and the dreams, and also the nightmares, because I think it’s important.
What’s next for you?
I have my own production company, called Eight Pictures. We are currently working on producing a film in the US. It’s about the obesity epidemic, which is another interesting issue.
