Theravada monks in front of Angkor, once the world's largest religious monument |
Legacy of the CIA and Khmer Rouge |
Twice a year in Theravada Buddhist Cambodia, the Tonle Sap river changes course, while the metaphorical
river of life flows in a perpetual cycle of death and rebirth,
creation and destruction. Working in an intimate and cinema vérité style,
filmmaker Kalyanee Mam (director of photography for the Oscar-winning
documentary "Inside Job") spent two years in her native homeland
following three young Cambodians struggling to overcome the crushing
effects of deforestation, overfishing, and overwhelming debt. A
breathtaking and unprecedented journey from the remote, mountainous
jungles and floating cities of the Cambodian countryside to the bustling
garment factories of its modern capital Phnom Penh, "A River Changes Course" traces a
remarkable and devastatingly beautiful story of a country torn between
the rural present and an ominous industrial future.
Amazing discovery in Cambodia! |
"River" reveals a Cambodia in crisis
Susan King (latimes.com, Oct. 10, 2013)
Filmmaker Kalyanee Mam grew up with an unbridled passion for her
native Cambodia. Though she was just a toddler when she and her family
fled the country in 1979 and settled in Stockton (California), her parents would tell
Mam and her siblings about the atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge
from 1975 to 1979, tempered with stories of the country's rich culture,
history, and beauty. "I always had this strong sense I wanted to return to my homeland and to understand..." More
No comments:
Post a Comment