Mao Ayuth

Mao Ayuth (; 8 July 1944 – 15 April 2021) was a Cambodian filmmaker and politician. One of the few filmmakers to survive the Khmer Rouge regime, he was noted, alongside Dy Saveth, Yvon Hem, and Bun Yim, as connecting contemporary Cambodian cinema with its golden age of the 1960s and 1970s. He died during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Early life and career Mao Ayuth was born on 8 July 1944 in Srey Sonthor District, Kampong Cham Province, in what was then the French protectorate of Cambodia.

After graduating from a screenwriting programme in 1965, Ayuth began his career as an assistant at National Television of Cambodia, going on to become a programme director.

After the fall of the Khmer Rouge in 1979, Ayuth established the governmental Department of Cinema alongside Ieu Pannakar. During his tenure, he continued to produce art, including films, music videos, television programmes, novels, and poems. He also served for a period as president of the Association of Television Stations of Cambodia.

At the time of his death, Ayuth was developing a government-funded television series documenting the film of Hun Sen, the Prime Minister of Cambodia.

Personal life and death Ayuth was married to So Samony and had four daughters and one son.