Chheangkea Ieng
“ON YOUR RADAR” IS A WEEKLY GRAD FILM NEWS SEGMENT THAT FEATURES A STUDENT PICKED AT RANDOM.
CHHEANGKEA IS CURRENTLY A 3RD YEAR STUDENT AT GRAD FILM. WE ASKED HIM A FEW QUESTIONS, AND HERE’S WHAT HE HAD TO SAY:
Where do you consider home and how is it like there?
I was born in Phnom Penh, Cambodia and moved to Massachusetts when I was 11. Growing up queer and never quite feeling like I belonged to any particular place has made it difficult to consider “home” as a geographical location. Rather, "home" to me is both a place and a time. Whether I’m in Phnom Penh enjoying a meal by the river with family or in Massachusetts grocery shopping with my mom or in New York on set with my classmates, it all feels like "home." It is wherever and whenever I feel seen.
What is currently inspiring you as a filmmaker?
As I continue to write, it occurred to me that I need at least 10 years to process any experience before I'm able to write about it. So what's inspiring me now is everything that happened over 10 years ago, which places me back in Cambodia for the most part.
Life in Cambodia back then was never well-captured and documented, especially not in cinema. Post-war Cambodia existed in a tiny bubble that only now lives in our memories. Turning these memories into images and feelings that can be shared is what drives my stories right now. I want Cambodians and the world to see and remember that Cambodian life continued even after its very existence was threatened. We existed then and we will continue to exist in all our pain, love, and joy.
What has been your most rewarding experience at NYU Tisch Grad Film so far?
Is it too much to say all of it? It's hard for me to place a single importance on one experience when I look back and see how much I have grown as a person and a filmmaker. I went to an engineering school studying architecture before coming to Grad Film. So to now be able to live my life telling my stories and helping my classmates tell theirs as a cinematographer, I'd say the most rewarding experience of all is the cumulative one thus far.
But if I had to be more specific, it'd be the 2nd year film production period. It started on my own set here in NYC where I was fortunate enough to assemble a team of individuals I loved who wanted to be there to help me tell a personal story that was inspired by my first few years in America. And it came to an end in pitch darkness on another set with me and a few other classmates holding hands and screaming to the Atlantic Ocean on Miami's South Beach where Chiron and Kevin first had their moment in Moonlight. It was all very appropriate and cathartic after 2.5 months living life in stories and out of the real world. I'm never going to forget it.
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