Festival de la Francophonie 2026

Register here: https://www.af-chicago.org/events/film-screening-becoming-human/

In partnership with the Alliance Française de Chicago and Asian Pop-Up Cinema (APUC), the National Cambodian Heritage Museum & Killing Fields Memorial is pleased to present a special screening of self-taught Cambodia-based filmmaker Polen Ly’s 2025 supernatural drama Becoming Human. The event is part of Festival de la Francophonie 2026, the 20th edition of the Asian Pop-Up Cinema Film Festival, and the Museum’s Day of Remembrance event series.

Sophia Wong Boccio, Founder and Executive Director of Asian Pop-Up Cinema, will present this compassionate film exploring themes of heritage and modernity. The story follows a journalist who forms an unexpected friendship with the guardian spirit of a soon-to-be-demolished theater.

Guests are invited to stay for a post-screening discussion, followed by a social reception featuring complimentary Cambodian tea.

Doors open at 6:00 PM, with the screening beginning at 6:30 PM. Please enter via 54 W Chicago Ave.

Becoming Human received top honors at the Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival, winning both the Golden Hanoman and NETPAC Awards. The film has been recognized for its poetic and meditative reflection on Cambodia’s history and the preservation of memory in a rapidly changing society.