Horror Film ‘Tenement’ Makes Cambodia’s Submission For The Oscars
Cambodia has confirmed that a horror film, Tenement, will be its submission for the Best International Feature Film category at the 98th Academy Awards.
The film, directed by Inrasothythep Neth and Sokyou Chea, is set within a decaying tenement building left over from the era of Pol Pot. Thanet Thorn stars as Soriya, a Cambodian-Japanese manga artist who returns to the house following the death of her mother and experiences terrifying visions from the past.
Shot in Tokyo and Phnom Penh, filming on the production had been delayed for two years as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. It is the first Cambodian film to use Dolby Atmos sound design and has already won the category for Best Production Design at the 2024 Ho Chi Minh City International Film Festival.
Tenement had its premiere during the Big Screen Competition at the International Film Festival in Rotterdam last year. It has since had showings at numerous other film festivals across the world, including the Osaka Asian Film Festival, the Ho Chi Minh City International Film Festival, Seattle International Film Festival, Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival, Kaohsiung Film Festival, Luxembourg City Film Festival, MOTELX Lisbon International Horror Film Festival, and Horrorant’s Fright Nights.
The Oscar International Feature Shortlist will be announced on Tuesday, December 16, 2025, with the final five nominees to be announced on Thursday, January 22, 2026. The 98th Academy Awards ceremony is to be held on Sunday, March 15, 2026.
