A documentary feature by Kanitha Heng Snow and Guillermo Roques
“A treasure is waiting for you”
KAMNOP is a feature documentary about a mother, Kanika, and her daughter, Kanitha, who set off on a treasure hunt in their homeland of Cambodia. This is a quest for justice, gold, and karma that explores intergenerational trauma, healing, and the complexity of family bonds. This modern-day adventure offers moments of tenderness, difficult conversations, awkward situations, and lots of laughter. By the end, Kanitha, Kanika, and the audience will discover something far more valuable than material treasure. Maybe, they’ll find the real treasure is something much deeper that they’ve been seeking all along.
Think Wes Anderson meets Indiana Jones as we follow a mother-daughter treasure hunt that unearths more than just buried gold. Now picture The Mole Agent meets The Act of Killing, as we bring an unexpected warmth and playfulness to a story of historical weight.
That’s KAMNOP. We balance serious themes with moments of tenderness and levity, navigating complex issues like intergenerational trauma, displacement, and reconciliation, while maintaining a sense of hope and possibility. It resonates in today’s world, as we witness unprecedented global displacement, polarization, and negativity.
Finally, imagine a story where mystery, historical memory, killing fields, and land rights intertwine with Buddha, dreams, beauty salons, ghosts, and dragons. Kamnop is a wild and fun, yet deeply profound modern tale aimed at global audiences. It speaks to those concerned about urgent, global issues, but still crave warmth, laughter, and hope.
KANITHA HENG SNOW
DIRECTOR & PRODUCER
Kanitha Heng Snow is a writer, social impact leader, and first-time filmmaker whose work explores war, displacement, and their lasting effects on individuals and communities. Committed to supporting refugees and immigrants in building a sense of wealth, worth, and well-being, she serves as the Executive Director of the Colgate Writers Conference and is actively involved in nonprofit leadership. She sits on the boards of The Village Institute (Aurora, CO), which empowers refugee and immigrant mothers and youth, and the Colorado Asian Culture and Education Network (Denver, CO), which advocates for AANHPI communities through cultural exchange and education.
She has an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Columbia University. Her memoir, I Am My Mother’s Mother: A Story of Birth, Death, and Reincarnation, explores intergenerational trauma, memory, and motherhood across Cambodia and America. This memoir also inspired her directorial debut with Kamnop.
GUILLERMO ROQUES
DIRECTOR & PRODUCER
Guillermo Roques is a journalist by training and a filmmaker by passion. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism, a Master’s in Film Scriptwriting, and a Diploma in European Journalism from the universities of Aarhus and Utrecht. With over a decade of experience working for production companies and television networks in the U.S., his work spans diverse global contexts, from covering terrorism in Corsica to documenting Sahrawi refugee camps in Algeria, ex-Soviet chess players in Spain, and Navajo bullfighters in Arizona.
His films explore themes of inclusion, community, housing, memory, and responsibility. Pianola (2012) examines disability inclusion in the performing arts, The Right to Rest (2019) delves into a self-governed homeless community in the U.S., and You Play My Father (2023) follows a Bosnian Srebrenica survivor and a former UN Dutchbat soldier confronting the past through theater. He is currently in production on The Dutchbat (2026), a feature-length documentary exploring war trauma and the lasting psychological consequences that can put lives on hold.
