TRAILERS

New Trailer for Buddhist Sci-Fi Mystery 'Karmalink' from Cambodia

by Alex Billington
June 9, 2022
Source: YouTube

"I've been searching, seeking, my whole life… And now, finally, we meet." Good Deed Entertainment has revealed an official US trailer for an intriguing sci-fi indie film made in Cambodia titled Karmalink. This first premiered last year at the Venice International Film Critics' Week, and it played at tons of other film festivals throughout late 2021 and early 2022. It's now opening in the US this July. In this Buddhist sci-fi mystery set in near-future Phnom Penh, a young Cambodian detective untangles a link between her friend's past-life dreams of a lost gold artifact and a neuroscientist's determination to attain digital enlightenment. The main story follows a 13-year-old boy and his friend - they "must decide how far they are willing to go to find their treasure and the truth." The indie film stars Leng Heng Prak, Srey Leak Chhith, Sahajak Boonthanakit, and Cindy Sirinya Bishop. I'm super interested in this, all the footage looks especially unique and I'm curious to see how they craft a sci-fi story around Buddhism. I'm down. Give this one a look.

Here's the official US trailer (+ poster) for Jake Wachtel's Karmalink, direct from YouTube:

In near-future Phnom Penh, the rich and privileged are augmented with nanotech, and new skyscrapers crowd the skyline. In Tralop Bek, a tight-knit community threatened with forced eviction, 13 year-old Leng Heng is having vivid dreams of his past lives. He and his friends are convinced they are meant to find a buried Buddhist statue to save their homes, so they seek help from a street-smart girl in the neighborhood, Srey Leak. Together they follow clues across town and into the past. As Leng Heng's dreams converge on the present, his very sense of identity begins to unravel. When it becomes clear that the stakes are higher than they imagined, the two friends must decide how far they are willing to go to find their treasure and the truth. Karmalink is directed by the first-time filmmaker Jake Wachtel, making his feature directorial debut after one short previously. The screenplay is by Jake Wachtel and Christopher Larsen. Produced by Valerie Steinberg, Sok Visal, and Jake Wachtel. This initially premiered at the Venice Film Critics' Week last year. Good Deed releases Karmalink in select US theaters + on VOD starting July 15th, 2022 this summer.

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