MIFF 2020: An Interview with Allison Chhorn, Director of ‘The Plastic House’

Cambodian-Australian, Allison Chhorn is an artist of many talents. A skilled photographer, painter, composer, and filmmaker, Chhorn is a bold and intriguing new voice in Australia’s artistic landscape. Her latest experimental cinematic effort, The Plastic House is a wholly absorbing ‘docu-fiction’ film about mourning, passage of time, and capturing the strange and alluring atmosphere of the titular greenhouse. The Plastic House is screening as part of MIFF’s online festival program for 2020 and I had the privilege to talk to Allison Chhorn about her film.

Listen to the full interview on the latest episode on Another Bloody Movie Podcast now available on Soundcloud below. The episode is also available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

SC: You’re over in Adelaide, I’m here under Stage 4 lockdown in Melbourne. COVID is sort of wrapping up for you, but as a creative, how was the lockdown for you? Did it stimulate or stifle your creativity and work ethic?

AC: I think just with everyone, you know, it’s a bit of a shock to hear the news and have to be in lockdown. But for me, I’m really used to being homebound so it’s not that different for me. I just feel a lot of sympathy for everyone else who has to stay at home but are still working and are having to compromise their lives and everything.

SC: Your film is an experimental piece that lands somewhere between fiction and documentary. How would you describe The Plastic House?

AC: It’s a film that’s hard to describe. And I guess some people have called it a documentary hybrid, which for people that don’t know, hybrid films are sort of based in reality but use narrative fictional techniques. For me, this film is very much based in reality and my own experiences, but I wanted to make something more cinematic. That’s why there’s a fusion between the two genres.

SC: You just mentioned the word ‘cinematic’ there. With film festivals now going online, are you disappointed or saddened by the fact your film can’t be played on the big screen?

AC: Yes. And also it’s weird because I can’t compare it to like… because I’ve never had physical screenings before. This is my first film that has done the festival circuit so it is all very new to me. I’m just very grateful just to be playing in festivals that are still playing online.

SC: How long did the film take to complete?

AC: I filmed most of it in the winter of 2016. And then because I was working on other projects, I just edited it on and off for a couple of years. That’s why it took a long time, but all up I’d say it took about 4 years to complete.

SC: I found in my research for the film that you have a strong background in editing, including a number of Video Essays on your Vimeo page. How much of The Plastic House and the ideas you are exploring came together in the edit?

AC: Yeah, that’s a good question because I think that’s how most of the film came about. Even though I had strong ideas of what I wanted to shoot at the start, I think the story really comes through editing and just creating the mood. The sound design too comes through editing, so that’s a big aspect for me.

SC: Staying on the edit, the film is very insular and contained to the Greenhouse and the property it is situated. Was there any footage shot outside this space that perhaps just didn’t fit?

AC: Yeah, that’s another good question because I did shoot a lot of stuff. Like, there’s a lot of driving footage (laughs). I think I cut out about 10-15 minutes of driving footage and just some other stuff that didn’t work out. I find that every project that I work on that that’s what tends to happen. You only really use maybe… I don’t know what the percentage is, but it’s a very small percent of what you actually shoot makes it in the film. So yeah, there was a lot that was cut out.

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