Cambodia has submitted Before the Fall as its entry for the Foreign Language Film category at the 89th Academy Awards.

Before the Fall, the debut feature for Australian director Ian White, is an action thriller centred around a female Cambodian singer and the two men in love with her, set in the days before the Khmer Rouge take over Phnom Penh on April 17, 1975. With financial backing from Royal Group’s Rock Productions, it is the first Cambodian-funded feature made for the overseas market.

The film premiered at the 2015 Cambodia International Film Festival. Then, the director White described it as ‘Casablanca with a psychedelic visual and Cambodian rock ’n’ roll soundtrack’. (The soundtrack mostly features music from the local act the Cambodian Space Project.) Cambodia is one of 85 countries to submit a film for consideration in the Oscars’ foreign-language category.

The film will now be considered for the Academy’s shortlist of nominees, likely to be released later this year.