synopsis
On the outskirts of the Cambodian capital, a luxury residential complex is going up. Yet hardly anyone lives there. Instead of the paradise promised by estate agents, a ghost town is emerging. Cinematographer Ivan Marković’s feature-length narrative debut contrasts the workers, who build skyscrapers in the sweltering heat and sleep within the buildings’ concrete bowels, and a lonely woman in a vast, sterile flat. Through geometrically precise observational shots and minimalist dialogue, the film unfolds a reflection on modern property development projects, which fail to create a sense of home and human connection, but merely deepen isolation and the social divide.
“Promised Spaces explores how architecture embodies social segregation, isolating people across class divides.” — Ivan Marković, The Hollywood Reporter
Source:
Cannes 2026 ACID Film Trailer 'Promised Spaces' (Exclusive)biography
Ivan Marković (1989) is a Serbian visual artist, director and cinematographer. He has collaborated on several films by director Angela Schanelec. His own films have been screened at festivals in Berlin, Cannes, Lisbon, Mar del Plata and Vienna.
film details
| director: | Ivan Marković |
| producer: | Jasmina Sijerčić, Zsofia Lili Kovacs, Jelena Radenković, Daniel Mattes, Ivan Marković |
| script: | Ivan Marković |
| photography: | Katharina Hauke, Ivan Marković |
| editing: | Ivan Marković |
| sound design: | Sum Sum Shen |
Film at festival
| premiere type: | Czech Premiere |
| festival edition: | 2026 |
| section: | Constellations |
| language: | Khmer |
| subtitles: | Czech, English |
