Award-winning French director Jean-Jacques Annaud is preparing to shoot a $100-million feature film in Siem Reap province, a government official said Monday.
The movie, titled “Two Brothers,” will begin filming in October and will tell the story of two tigers born in the 1920s in the deep jungle that, at the time, surrounded and sheltered the Angkor temples.
Pathe, a leading film-production and distribution company in Europe, will import 25 trained tigers from France and will hire about 250 Cambodians to work with a foreign production crew of about 200, said Sin Chan Saya, director of the cinema department of the Ministry of Culture.
In addition to Siem Reap, scenes may be filmed in Ratanakkiri, Kompong Chhnang, Kompong Cham and Takeo provinces, he said.
The movie follows the lives of the two tigers as they first defend their territory from a writer-adventurer who comes to Siem Reap to remove artwork from a temple.
One tiger is captured and ends up in a circus, where he is abused by his owners. The other tiger is also captured and, for a time, lives with a human family who keep a hostile dog.
After many twists and turns, the brothers meet in a ring and, instead of fighting each other—as their owners had intended—they escape together. Chased across Cambodia with a price on their heads, they finally jump over a wall of fire built to stop them and return to the jungle of their childhood.
Annaud also directed “The Bear,” a film with a similar concept—it follows the life of a bear cub as it grows to adulthood. The director won an Academy Award in the US and a series of Cesar Awards in France in 1988 for the film.
Annaud was also the director of “Seven Years in Tibet,” a film that earned him the ire of China. Beijing barred the director from entering China after the release of his film in 1997.
Paris-based Pathe has received authorization from the Council of Ministers to go ahead with “Two Brothers,” Sin Chan Saya said.
In a letter sent last week to Apsara Authority President Bun Narith, Pathe Films General Studio Manager Naoufel Ben youssef wrote that the company intends to produce a series of documentaries during the making of the film which will highlight Cambodia’s vegetation and wildlife.
In Siem Reap, the film crew will shoot scenes at Angkor Wat, Banteay Srei and Beng Melea temples, as well as Kbal Spien and Phnom Kulen, Chap Nhalyvuth said. Work in Cambodia is scheduled to be completed in April 2003.
An advance production team is now hiring local staff, building tiger cages in Siem Reap town and setting up equipment in the jungle, Sin Chan Saya said. Casting officials are looking for Cambodians to play village chiefs, villagers and hill tribe people, he said.
Pathe and the Apsara Authority will probably sign an agreement next week, Bun Narith said.
“We agree and support the movie project but have not determined the locations yet. We gave [the company] time to study the area first,” he said.
Pathe should spend a minimum of $2 million in Cambodia during the project, Bun Narith said. The fee Pathe is to pay the government will be modest because Cambodia wants to encourage other film producers to shoot here, he said.
During the filming, temples will be closed to tourists, government officials said.
But any lost revenue to tourism in the short term will pay off down the road because of the worldwide exposure the film will give Cambodia, Ministry of Culture Secretary of State Prince Sisowath Panara Sirivuth said.
Siem Reap Governor Chap Nhalyvuth said the tigers will pose no danger to locals or people working on the film.
“They are trained to listen to orders,” he said.
(Additional reporting by Michelle Vachon)
