Thibaut Amri & Antoine Guide & Lucas Sénécaut
2025
Cambodge, France, Qatar
Khmer, English
documentary
drama | biography
40 minutes
Avant la Nuit (Thibaut Amri, Antoine Guide), Anupheap Production (Rithy Panh), L'Œil Vif productions (Lucas Sénécaut)
Joker, Kookie and Djumbo are Khmericans — Cambodian refugees who grew up in the U.S. and were deported back to Cambodia after serving time in prison. Between reconnecting with fellow Khmericans and adapting to daily life with their new Khmer families, they navigate the remnants of a past life and the challenge of building a future.
Directors | Antoine Guide, Thibaut Amri, Lucas Sénécaut
Screenplay | Antoine Guide, Thibaut Amri, Lucas Sénécaut
Photography | Romain Rampillon
Editors | Anna Brunstein, Céline Kélépikis
Sound Editing | Gilles Bernardeau, Jean Christophe Sabatier
Sound Mixing | Gilles Bernardeau
Color Grading | Graziella Zanoni
Sound Design | Noé Bailleux
After completing an MBA in International Development, Antoine was appointed audiovisual project manager at the French Embassy in Kinshasa (DRC). He then moved to Cambodia, where he took over the management of a French NGO. For four years, in the country's provinces, he piloted the creation of water and sanitation projects, set up eco-tourism projects and supported the creation of health centers. At the same time, he created an audiovisual production company in Phnom Penh and co-directed the feature-length documentary Khmerica. Back in France, he joined the Alpes Film Lab, a European training program for emerging French producers, and co-founded the production company Avant la Nuit. In September 2024, he joined the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs as Regional Audiovisual Attaché to the French embassies in Tunisia and Egypt.
Thibaut Amri is a French-Tunisian producer and director who studied at the Faculty of Law and Cinema in Montpellier, then at the Atelier Ludwigsburg-Paris (La Fémis and Filmakademie Baden-Wurtemberg). In 2021, he co-founded the French company Avant la Nuit and has since produced several films that have been screened and won awards at major festivals (Cannes, Clermont-Ferrand, IndieLisboa, IDFA, Singapore Film Festival, Gerardmer, etc.). He has co-produced internationally with countries such as Cambodia, Iran, Algeria, Ecuador and Germany. His first documentary as a director was produced by Rithy Panh and had its world premiere at Vision du Réel 2025.
After a master's degree in private law, Lucas studied cinema and production in Montpellier, his hometown. He then moved to Phnom Penh (Cambodia) to co-direct the documentary Khmerica. At the same time, he worked at the Bophana Center with director and producer Rithy Panh. Back in France, he worked in Paris on various creative documentary productions. In 2021, he took part in the production of the short film Sound of the Night (Locarno 2021). In 2022, he co-founded L'Oeil Vif Productions in Toulouse, and in 2023 and 2024 the company produced or co-produced The House Is On Fire, Might As Well Get Warm (Directors' Fortnight, Cannes 2023), Khmerica and Until the Orchid Blooms.
