Davy Chou

Davy Chou (Khmer: ដេវី ជូ; born 13 August 1983) is a Cambodian-French filmmaker who has played multiple roles as a writer, director, and producer in several films. He embarked on his career by making his feature-length debut with Diamond Island (2016) and followed this up with Return to Seoul (2022). Chou established the Vycky Films production company in 2009 with the partnership of Jean-Jacky Goldberg and Sylvain Decouvelaere. His endeavors also stretch into encouraging filmmaking in Cambodia, having formed a collective in 2009 which collaborates with six universities. Chou was instrumental in organizing and curating a heritage film festival in Phnom Penh in 2013, marking the first of its kind in Asia. His early work in 2009 comprised of conducting film workshops in Cambodia with six universities, and encouraging and inspiring 60 students. In a quest to revive Cambodia's cinematic history, Chou moved to Cambodia, seeking to discover any surviving tokens from the golden age of Cambodian cinema (1960-1975). His pursuit led to the creation of Golden Slumbers, a documentary illustrating shared memories of Cambodian veteran filmmakers and actors/actresses. This project played a significant role in the revival of pre-Khmer Rouge film industry and stirred a newfound interest in Cambodian cinema among the younger generations. In 2013, he returned to his roots to curate and coordinate Asia's first heritage film festival. This was closely followed by Cambodia 2099 (2014), a short movie which won the Grand Prix of Festival du Film de Vendome 2014. His debut narrative feature-length film, Diamond Island, received acclaim in the Critics' Week section at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. His latest project, Return to Seoul (2022), enjoyed a successful release in theaters in the United States and was also made available for streaming in 2023.