Polen LY was born in 1989 in rural Kandal province, Cambodia. He paused his studies in medicine to pursue his filmmaking path in 2012. He has directed several shorts and documentaries, which explore environmental and social issues including LGBTQ+ and indigenous experiences. In 2015, he was selected for the International Writing Residency of the University of Iowa (USA), and in 2018, he joined the Asian Film Academy in Busan, Korea. He has also joined the Asiadoc program and the Story Lab at Docs by the Sea, both held in Indonesia. He was a participant in the 2024 Locarno Filmmakers Academy. His most recent short fiction, FURTHER AND FURTHER AWAY, held its world premiere in Berlinale Shorts in 2022, and it went on to receive awards at Palm Springs, Singapore, and Toronto Reel Asian, among others. Polen LY is now completing a full-length documentary film entitled UNTIL THE ORCHID BLOOMS, and he is developing his feature film debut, BECOMING HUMAN. He also has served as a mentor for youth-focused film institutions in Cambodia like PSE School of Media and Sunflower Film Organization.