Phnom Penh's most-loved independent cinema is coming back.

Artist impression of the upcoming new home of The Flicks

The Better Movies: foreign films, film festival winners, documentaries,
cult classics and community screenings are returning in 2026.

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The story so far

Twelve years of movies, one long intermission

From 2009 to 2021, The Flicks was Phnom Penh's only independent, licensed art house cinema. It started in a pre-Khmer Rouge villa on Street 95 near Tuol Sleng, grew into three venues across the city, and became the place where expats, travelers and Cambodian film lovers watched foreign films, festival winners, documentaries and classics from rattan sofas with a cold drink in hand.

The original Flicks in BKK3 held out the longest. Its final screening was on August 8, 2021, when the pandemic brought the curtain down. The community never stopped asking when it would come back.

That intermission is now ending.

2009First screening
3Venues across the city
109Community crowdfunders
2026The comeback
Coming attraction

What returns with The Flicks

This is not a new concept being tested. It is a proven cultural landmark being restored, for a city that has grown fast but still has no dedicated independent movie theater.

  • The filmsInternational cinema, documentaries, festival selections, cult classics and community screenings.
  • The roomA cozy, fully air-conditioned screening room built for comfort, not for capacity.
  • The Bar LoungeThe lounge returns, complete with the iconic Hollywood heroes paintings that formerly hung at The Flicks.
  • The Best Popcorn in Phnom PenhTMSalty popcorn, prepared in coconut oil, and voted the best by every popcorn connoisseur who ever passed through.
  • A home from homeA place to escape to — away from the heat, away from the stress, and feeling at home once again.
  • The communityPrivate screenings, birthday bookings and events — a cinema that belongs to its regulars.
The founding backer circle

Help bring it home

The Flicks comes back the way it always ran: backed by its own community. Not a crowdfund and not a donation — these are loans, and every backer is paid back. Read how the founding backer circle works, and how to join it.

Already backed toward reopening 75%

Visit the backers page

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