The film will be followed by a Q&A with the director Chris Kelly, as well as Buddhist monk The Venerable Sovath, who features in the film. Local, award-winning filmmaker Rob Lemkin, director of 2010 documentary Enemies of the People, will chair the post-screening discussion.
A Cambodian Spring is an intimate portrait of three people caught up in the chaotic and often violent development that is shaping modern-day Cambodia. Shot over six years, the film charts the growing wave of land-rights protests that led to the ‘Cambodian Spring’ and the tragic events that followed. The film won the Special Jury Prize at the 2017 Hot Docs International Documentary Festival and Best Documentary at the Brooklyn Film Festival.
One of the individuals who features extensively in the film is Buddhist monk The Venerable Luon Sovath. Dubbed the multi-media monk because of his technical proficiency in filmmaking, he combines the teachings of Buddha with his new role as a Human Rights Defender, creating documentaries that highlight human rights abuses across Cambodia. The film follows The Venerable Sovath as he films what is happening around him, beginning with the forced eviction of his community, documenting other eviction cases, and finally filming the political protests that engulfed the country and culminated in a Cambodian Spring in 2013.
[caption id=“attachment_38261” align=“aligncenter” width=“735”]
TEP Vanny trys to resist the advance of police forces pushing back community members who came to support the trial of Yorm Bopha and Tim Sakmony near the Phnom Penh Municipal Court. © Nicolas Axelrod 2012[/caption]
Becky Hallsmith, Owner, The Ultimate Picture Palace, said: “We’re delighted to be hosting what promises to be a fascinating documentary screening, especially given that both the director and The Venerable Luon Sovath will be in attendance.
“Rob was the first person we thought to ask to chair the discussion, not only does he live locally (and I often see him in the audience at the UPP) but he also knows Cambodia well from filming there himself.”
https://youtu.be/7t12Am6DM18
To book tickets visit http://bit.ly/ACSUpp
