'Reviving a Vintage Cinema House in Southeast Asia' - eBook and Documentary from CamboFest

NEW! 'Reviving a Vintage Cinema House in Southeast Asia' - forthcoming eBook and Documentary, subscribe to the mailing list athttp://eepurl.com/bR6XU5 :: In 2009, my team and I in Cambodia rediscovered and revived a vintage cinema house in Kampot, the 'Royal', which hadn't been used since 1989 (it was at the time being used as a water container storage warehouse and hardly resembled a cinema hall...as seen at http://cambofest.blogspot.com/2009/12/initial-pix-content-from-cambofest-2009.html )

While the art scene in Kampot has recently taken off, at the time, back in 2009, there was resistance from some quarters to the idea of reviving the old cinema hall, and factions within the provincial Culture office clashed with old rivals about bringing the Royal back to life for our event, the CamboFest Film Festival - Cambodia's first film festival since the end of the Khmer Rouge regime. Meanwhile, interference by foreign movie pirates and friction among some expatriates within the art scene also made things tough going, especially with very modest grass roots budget - probably 1/10,000 that of a typical UNESCO effort.

I paid for a lot of the effort out of my own pocket...

There was no simple, streamlined process to gain permissions at the time, and everything had to be done from scratch. I went to Kampot 15 or 20 times by bus from Phnom Penh, in between teaching jobs, on weekends, etc, to keep things rolling. It was not a simple matter of just asking the family who owned the old cinema hall for permission: there was a difficult and labyrinthine process of figuring out just who to ask to get permissions, and I found that I was often on my own negotiating in Khmer as best I could. 

Permission had to be granted from the highest authority at the Minister's office, and although there were many, many supporters, there were also some folks - foreign and Cambodian - who just didn't want to see the cinema hall come back for various personal and political reasons. (*I'll get into this more in the eBook and documentary) Even so, despite all the challenges, the event was a success, thanks to our team, all volunteers, and sponsors including the US Embassy in Phnom Penh. The old Southeast Asian Royal cinema hall sparkled and shone again, after years of dormancy, with an all-digital throughput and customized screen and sound system.  

Late great Cambodian filmmaker Yvon Hem receives the CamboFest Grabay Meas (Golden Buffalo) award in recognition for his work.

Now, in 2016, more and more cultural events are taking place at the 'Royal', thus bringing back to life an entire sector of the cultural economy in Cambodia,  while allowing Mr. Sokun and his family, who are of modest means and who live in the 'Royale', to generate some income. 

Today, permissions appear to be very simple and straightforward - unlike the formidable and nearly impossible process we experienced at the time. It just goes to show that a determined grass roots effort * can * make a difference 

Kindly sign up for updates regarding the comprehensive eBook (with photos) about our efforts and the historical process of reviving the old 'Royal' movie hall back then, and the short documentary and multimedia project which will accompany it: In the meantime, read more at http://cambofest.blogspot.com/2009/12/initial-pix-content-from-cambofest-2009.html

CamboFest 2016 Update

Hello Friends:

It's been a while since the last update for Cambodia's first film festival, the CamboFest Film & Video Festival!

Established way back in 2007, CamboFest was the first internationally recognized movie festival to take place in Cambodia since the end of the Khmer Rouge regime...our indie, grass roots event has since inspired and encouraged a host of other movie festival events in Cambodia who followed our pioneering lead!

As some may know, the CamboFest event went on a multi-year hiatus to 'wait out' some challenging variables in the local media environment here in Cambodia, in order to allow those to settle and disperse.

CamboFest is now back on track to undertake its first event in a number of years; depending on the number of quality submitted films, financing, and other factors, this may be a 'Lite' event - as was held in 2008 Phnom Penh, and in 2009 in Siem Reap as the festival once again gains traction.

In either case, CamboFest's Khmer staffers are at this very moment (1/13/16) viewing screeners submitted through our portal at FilmFreeway, and are busily ranking and notating those entries.

Given the curve that always accompanies training, our intention is to stay on course for a late March event.

However, given the challenges of starting up an event again in the developing world after a multi-year pause, there's always a chance this may need some adjustment - stand by in any case for any updates.

And always, always please refer to this official blog for verified news regarding the CamboFest event!