Cinéma & Parcours : Khémma, “Cambodia allows me to live my childhood dreams”

She has just hit the cinema headlines with the release of “The Spirit House”, and has no intention of stopping there. Audiences will see her again in early 2025 with an ambitious film inspired by two great classics of suspense and science fiction. Interview with a vivacious young woman who confides that she is living out her childhood dreams in Cambodia.

You in a few words

My name is Khemma Métayer, I'm French-Khmer, 25 years old and I grew up in Cambodia. When I was 14, I left the Kingdom for France. First Reunion Island, then mainland France, and I've been back in Cambodia for two and a half years now. So I graduated and came back home.

Why did you come back to Cambodia?

It was during the Covid period and France was horrible during that time. I felt very oppressed, there was nothing I liked any more, I was doing a part-time course and it wasn't going well. So I finished my first year and then I had an opportunity in Cambodia. I took it and came back.

What kind of training did you follow?

Generally speaking, I studied business and ended up specializing in marketing because it was a field that attracted me.

What do you do today?

First I worked for a few companies, and now I've been freelancing for two months. I've got a few customers, but I haven't set up an agency yet. I want to see what it's like first. So I'm giving myself until December to see. And then, if things go well...

Why freelance?

I prefer to be independent. As I have quite a few personal projects, it gives me a certain flexibility because, in addition to freelance marketing, I also act in films.

Can you tell us more about it?

It all started two and a half years ago when I returned to Cambodia. I have a friend who runs a model agency. She offered my profile to a production company for a project. They didn't take me on for that film, but two years later they called me for a new project and I shot my first feature film with the Wonderfilm Entertainment production. The film is called “The Ritual”, and it's a horror film. In fact, I grew up watching TV series and Disney and I've always wanted to be in a series or a film. So this is a dream turned into reality.

Tell us about the film and the role

It was very demanding because there were many hours of waiting. In Cambodia, it's hot, it can rain a lot and we sometimes had to wait long hours before we could shoot in the conditions defined by the script. It can be exhausting.

Were you comfortable in front of the camera?

It was a major character trait, but I was comfortable. I never took acting lessons, but it's something I've wanted to do since I was a little girl. I didn't have a lot of dialogue, but when I did, it was all the same “big chunks”, long dialogues.

What happened after “The Ritual”?

After this film, I was contacted for a local TV series at PNN. The series isn't out yet; I filmed it last year, so it's due out at the end of the year. I'm appearing in five episodes in this series where I play the role of a Franco-Khmer woman who returns from France and falls in love. My most recent experience concerns the film “Soma”, a nine-month shoot in which I played the lead role. The film was inspired by Luc Besson's “Lucy” and the classic “Carrie at the Devil's Ball”. I also shot “The Spirit House”, which premiered recently.

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For the film Soma, how does it feel to play a leading role at the start of your career?

It's obviously gratifying. However, and this is inherent to the film business, you don't really get a feel for the film during shooting, because the scenes aren't necessarily in chronological order, you don't always look at the rushes, and so on. It can be frustrating, and when you see the rushes, you can't be objective because you're so involved, and it's also hard to judge yourself.

What kind of film is Soma?

It's not a horror film at all; Soma is more of a fantastic thriller with references to the genre, like the two films it's based on.

Would you like to go further in this field?

I'd love to, and that's why I seized the opportunity with Wonderfilm, because they're serious professionals with state-of-the-art equipment. It's also a team that cares about the talent of the actors; they do casting based on criteria of talent, not notoriety as can sometimes be the case in regional productions.

How are you getting on in Cambodia?

I thrive of course, I also came back because I missed the country. It's also a wonderful opportunity for me to live experiences and childhood dreams that might not have been possible elsewhere.