Strangled

From the 1980s to the early 2000s, microfinance loans to the world’s poor were heralded as a silver bullet for global poverty. While globally its effectiveness has been reevaluated since its inception, microfinance in Cambodia is still considered a tool for poverty alleviation.

Born on the backbone of a wider research project from the Royal Holloway University of London and Nottingham University, Strangled challenges this narrative. The stories of the 3 Cambodian families in this film debunk the myth of microfinance as a tool that serves the poor. Instead, they portray a bleak scenario where microfinance lending has induced suicide, forced migration, and torn vulnerable families apart.

Through the eyes of the protagonists and their intimate experiences, the film intends to present the struggle so many Cambodians face when dealing with microfinance indebtedness.