When Joey Schihl was looking around for a creative project in 2021, he couldn’t have imagined he’d be driving a cameraman on a moped through the streets of Kampot Province in Cambodia two years later.
Though he works as a realtor in his day job, Schihl studied film at Virginia Commonwealth University, producing a documentary called “Blank Street” in 2011. He pushed his artistic aspirations to the back burner after graduation, but he kept in touch with college friend Johnny Phan.
Phan was born in America after his family fled Cambodia during the brutal regime of the Khmer Rouge. “We joked in college about how cool it would be to make a film where Johnny goes back to Cambodia and meets all of his family that’s still there for the first time,” says Schihl. “It never came to fruition.”
But in 2021, Phan was asked to join the Cambodian national cycling team and his friend saw an opportunity to revive the long dormant idea. “The stars just kind of aligned that he was going to go on this adventure,” Schihl says. “It was a joke for years and years and then it got real.”
What ultimately became a multiyear adventure is captured in “Chasing Cambodia,” a documentary Schihl produced with another friend, Ben Saunders, and Saunders’ production company, Adelicia Co. Style Weekly’s owners VPM also share a producing credit and are hosting a screening of the film and a panel discussion with Phan and the production team at the Byrd Theatre on Saturday, May 3.
Two dynamics play out in the film: Phan’s challenge to compete as an elite cyclist as he ages past his middle 30s and his unique opportunity to connect to a country and a heritage he avoided when he was younger.
“I don’t want to speak entirely on Johnny’s behalf,” says Schihl. “But I know being one of the only Asian kids growing up in the West End of Richmond, he didn’t really want to stick out. He kind of pushed all of that history down and wanted to blend in.
Then all of a sudden, you’re approaching midlife and you kind of go, shoot, it’s cool to have this history that’s different than everybody else’s.”
Phan has been a competitive cyclist for more than 15 years and is a member of the local Cutaway Blanchard’s Coffee cycling team. “The bike became a vessel for him to experience not an identity crisis, but a sort of identity bloom,” says Schihl.
Both Schihl and Phan now have young children, something Schihl says is key to understanding some of the urgency behind Phan’s journey: “Having a kid of your own, recognizing your parents won’t be here at some point, you end up fearing that their stories and culture and history, all of that heritage won’t be able to be passed down to the next generation.”
“Chasing Cambodia” has already been screened at a couple festivals and has received praise for its high-quality depiction of a fast-moving sport on a limited budget. Schihl credits Saunders and Kyle Jonas, who co-directed the film, for being quick studies.
“I threw them into the fire,” he says. “I told them, ‘Hey, Johnny’s going to race in Vietnam. We’ve got just enough money to get you guys there. Can you go?’ They jumped on a flight, took as much gear as they could, and shot some of the most important footage we got.”
While he mostly worked in logistics, Schihl pitched in as needed, as per the aforementioned moped ride that happened during the 2023 Cambodian National Championships.
“Kyle was supposed to have a spot on one of these big official motorcycles that travel with the race,” he remembers. “We showed up and they said, ‘There’s no room for you guys. Go find a moped and jump in the race.’”
“That was kind of how a lot of this project unfolded,” Schihl laughs. “A little by the seat of our pants.”
A screening and panel discussion of “Chasing Cambodia” will be held at the Byrd Theatre on May 3rd. Tickets and more information are available here.
