Rithy Panh’s debut narrative feature, finished only a few years after Cambodia’s decade-long post–Khmer Rouge civil war, was the country’s first-ever submission to the foreign-language category at the Oscars. It pointedly focuses on a cornerstone of Cambodian life that was nearly extinguished during the chaos: rice farming and harvesting. Amidst the paddies and fields of the countryside, the daily struggles of a rural family turn more difficult after an unexpected tragedy; a mother descends into alcohol and madness and leaves the oldest daughter responsible for survival. A neo-realist melodrama inspired by a woman Panh met in a refugee camp, Rice People is a testament to Cambodian resilience in the face of struggle.