The Girls of Phnom Penh (2009)

• 91%
• 2009
• Matthew Watson

Every day in Cambodia, South East Asia, families sell their daughters into the highly lucrative sex trade. Sex with a virgin girl can be worth as much as twelve hundred US dollars to an Asian man. Srey Leak (16), Me Nea (17) and Cheata (17) are all victims of the virginity trade. They met as karaoke girls at the 'Soul' club in Phnom Penh. 'The Girls Of Phnom Penh' examines in intimate detail the complex relationship these girls have with their mothers, who sold them. The film also tells the story of the incredible friendship between Srey Leak, Me Nea and Cheata. Together these girls are like sisters united against the world and all the horrors it throws at them. They face their brutal existence with courage and humour. Their story is one of sisterhood through adversity; a friendship that offers each a very simple form of support as they struggle with balancing their childhood dreams and teenage expectations of life with the very adult lives they lead by night.