The Tenth Dancer

Synopsis

Under the brutal regime of Pol Pot over ninety percent of Cambodia’s artists were killed, including most of the classical dancers of the Royal Court Ballet. Only one in ten survived. This is the story of the tenth dancer. After Pol Pot was overthrown, Em Theay now the Head teacher of the National Dance Company, returned to Phnom Penh to help rebuild the troupe. There she met up with her former student Sok Chea, whom she then trained to become one of the principal dancers in the company.

THE TENTH DANCER is an intimate portrait of the relationship between a teacher and her pupil set against the backdrop of war torn Cambodia. The film weaves between the past and the present, memory and dream, to reveal a story of human dignity and survival. As EmTheay prepares her dancers for the Cambodian New Year celebrations - a time when respect is paid to the gods and one’s ancestors, the dancers remember the New Year of 1975 when Pol Pot seized power and the story of the killing fields began.‘Under Pol Pot we were all without hope. We thought we wouldn’t be able to come back. Now it’s as if the flame is back. Before, during the Pol Pot time it had been extinguished.I had no energy to create the movements. It seemed like I was in a dream. Now I have the light to live. Just like a tree that is coming into bud and beginning to blossom.’
Em Theay

Impact

The Director's Statement

This documentary took over 2 years to finance. It would never have been made without the generous support of several Non Government Aid organisations who saw the story as being symbolic of Cambodia’s struggle to rebuild itself after the genocidal Pol Pot years. The film was first commissioned by the BBC and after 3 rejections the ABC agreed to a presale. Once completed the film sold to all major territories including France, Germany, Japan, USA and Scandinavia and every country in SE Asia.

THE TENTH DANCER screened at numerous international film festivals including Cinema Du Reel, Paris; Los Angeles Asia Pacific Festival and the Margaret Mead Film Festival New York. AWARDS Winner Golden Gate Award, San Francisco International Film Festival BEST DOCUMENTARY 1994 Australian Teachers Of Media Award (ATOM), Silver Plaque Chicago International Film Festival, Nominated for Best Documentary Hawaii Film Festival, Honourable Mention Asian TV Festival, Japan.

The film was screened in Cambodia and used on several occasions to raise finance for the National Dance Company of Cambodia. The documentary was the first of its kind to tell the story of Cambodians after Pol Pot from a personal rather than a journalistic perspective. It still continues to be used widely around the world in Universities and Colleges as a seminal piece on Cambodia.

Press COMMENTS:
‘A beautiful, moving finely made film.’ John Pilger.

‘A poignant elegy for the Cambodian National Dance Company..focusing on 2 individuals, it overlooks much of the tragedy, but the women featured convey the horror and beauty superbly.’ TIME OUT LONDON.

‘This inspirational story reveals how a faint glimmer of hope has appeared in a country ravaged by Pol Pot’s horrific regime’. DAILY EXPRESS LONDON.