THURSDAY, 01/07, 7 PM
BIG OIL IN TINY CAMBODIA: THE BURDEN OF NEW WEALTH
Still clawing its way out of the ruins of its past, Cambodia has come face to face with an extraordinary future:
It seems to have struck oil. Our "ScreenDocs" Documentary Film Forum presents this double bill with entries from
Cambodia and the USA. Equity TV's OIL IN THE TONLE SAP is followed by Joe Berlinger's CRUDE: THE REAL PRICE OF OIL (USA,
104mins, 2009). This award-winning film tells the story of the infamous $27 billion "Amazon Chernobyl" case. Can 30,000 indigenous plaintiffs find justice from one of
the world's largest oil producers? Who is responsible for the unconscionable dumping of 18 billion gallons of toxic waste in the Ecuadoran Amazon?
FRIDAY, 02/07, 7 PM
CAMBODIA, CONGO, AFGHANISTAN: SEEKING PEACE, GIVING AID
A former child soldier in the Congo, a Cambodian women seeking justice; and fathers from once antagonized clans in Afghanistan, who are together building a school:
What all those people from different regions want is a life in peace and security. Marita Neher's film "FOR TOMORROW"S LIFE" (2010, 43mins) shows how international
development advocates peace and security in this countries. Afterwards, Mark Hopkins' riveting documentary "LIVING IN EMERGENCY": STORIES OF "DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS"
(2008, 93min) follows four members of this NGO on their African missions in Congo and Liberia to provide emergency medical care under extreme conditions.
SATURDAY, 03/07, 7 PM
THE EDUKATORS: TOP GERMAN CINEMA IN KHMER AND ENGLISH VERSION
Smart, breezy and playful, this German feature film (2004, 127mins) by Austrian director Hans Weingartner makes bold connections between the present politics of
dissent and the 1960s. Three young Germans break into the houses of local wealthy people but they don't steal anything. Instead they move furniture around as a warning:
the days of plenty are numbered. The film also succeeds brilliantly in telling the story of a man who falls in love with his best buddy's girlfriend and doesn't
know what to do about it. The Khmer version with English subtitles has been produced by the Goethe Institut and was premiered at the 2009 German Film Fest in Phnom Penh.
SUNDAY, 04/07, 7 PM
LEGALIZE IT? DOCUMENTARIES & DISCUSSION ABOUT MEDICAL CANNABIS
While cannabis for recreational use is illegal in most parts of the world, its use as a medicine is legal in a number of regions worldwide, countries like Canada,
Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain. In the US, federal law outlaws all cannabis use, while permission for medical cannabis varies among states. Distribution
is usually done within a framework defined by local laws. Medical cannabis remains a controversial issue worldwide. The two films RUN FROM THE CURE - THE RICK SIMPSON
STORY (58 mins) and THE UNION (64 mins) are presented by Ray Christl, "Lay Pastor of THC Ministry Cambodia" and "MD of Cambodia Medical Cannabis-Hemp Association".
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WEEKLY NEWS FOR JULY, 2010
TUESDAY, 13/07, 6 PM
PHOTOS FROM THE FRONTLINE: TIM PAGE EXHIBIT, FILM & TALK
Tim Page is showing unseen photographs from Cuba and Cambodia, and Communism, in the Art café. When communism gets to the tropics it's flavour certainly changes colours; still with plenty of red. It devolves in Cambodia into a Buddhist saffron socialism - in Cuba it becomes a carnival. The erstwhile colonial powers have left their pastel stuccos and shutters. The folk smile back even when beset with their problems of survival. There is always a synergy and an image. Afterwards, screening of "BEYOND WORDS - PHOTOGRAPHERS OF WAR", an unique documentary focusing on 24 off-camera interviews with leading photojournalists from WWII to the present. (Canada, 60mins, 2005).
WEDNESDAY, 14/07, 7 PM
FACTS ABOUT "F*CK": OUR FAVOURITE FOUR-LETTER-FILM
You have to watch this provocative documentary by US director/producer Steve Anderson, who takes a look at all sides of the infamous F-word. It's taboo, obscene and controversial, yet somehow seems to permeate every single aspect of our culture. "F*CK" (2005, 93mins) will exam how the word is impacting our world today through interviews, film and television clips, music, and original animation by Oscar nominee Bill Plympton. It features commentary by linguists, comedians, artists, musicians, filmmakers, authors, porn stars, politicians, and media personalities as well as clips from George W. Bush's one-fingered salute to U2's Golden Globe acceptance.
THURSDAY, 15/07, 7 PM
"ENCOURAGE, AND I CAN" AND "RISE UP!": LIVING WITH DISABILITIES
The percentage of Cambodians who live with a disability ranks amongst the highest in the world. The film ENCOURAGE, AND I CAN (32mins) by EPIC ARTS and Purple Field Productions, introduces you to Chakriya, a young wheelchair user who strives to overcome difficulties and prejudice to realize her dream of working in the arts. The Meta House film RISE UP! documents the TIGA program of the NGO HANDICAP INTERNATIONAL, where landmine and polio victims receive vocational training. Khmer sign language is added to make the films accessible to those who are deaf. The stars of ENCOURAGE, AND I CAN and filmmaker Chum Reap (RISE UP!) will be present (Q&A).
FRIDAY, 16/07, 7 PM
TIGER JAM: NEW LIVE MUSIC AND PARTY SERIES AT META HOUSE
Strap a rocket to a tuk-tuk, light the fuse, seat belts on, hold your breath 3-2-1 Blast Off!! THE CAMBODIAN SPACE PROJECT fronted by Khmer singer Srey Thy, plays psychedelic rock like "The Doors" crossed with Cambodian Jungle (Big) Beats. The stratospheric rise of The Cambodian Space Project has caught those witnessing the spectacle of this cosmic cross-culture rock band as it blasts across the dusty highways of Cambodia by surprise. Be there or be square! In our rooftop cinema we are screening VIDEOS AND NEW SOUNDZ OF PHNOM PENH all night long – featuring DJ SDEY, MC CURLY, THOM THOM, MESSENGER BAND, KLAP-YA-HANDZ HIP HOP COLLECTIVE and many more.
SATURDAY, 17/07, 7PM
"NOWHERE BOY": JOHN LENNON'S CHILDHOOD
English rock band "The Beatles" were one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Artist Sam Taylor-Wood tells the never seen before childhood story of singer/songwriter John Lennon. Liverpool 1955: a smart and troubled fifteen year old is hungry for experience. In a family full of secrets, two incredible women clash over John. He escapes into the new and exciting world of rock n' roll where his fledgling genius finds a kindred spirit in the teenage Paul McCartney. Just as John begins his new life, tragedy strikes. But a resilient young man finds his voice — and an icon explodes into the world. (UK, 98mins, 2009).
SUNDAY, 18/07, 7 PM
"DESERT FLOWER": A TRUE FAIRY TALE
When Waris Dirie's book DESERT FLOWER appeared in 1998, the world was shocked. Director Sherry Hormann describes the autobiography of Waris, raised in a Somalian nomadic family, who was circumcised as a child, sold in marriage at 13, and fled from Africa to Europe to later become a supermodel. Now Waris Dirie is UN spokeswoman against circumcision. This is the inspiring story of an extraordinary, proud and brave women. It's easy to forget that Dirie's memoir is a book about someone whose success has come from posing for the camera. Indeed, it is Dirie's remarkable lack of narcissism or entitlement that makes her so captivating a raconteur (Germany, 120mins, 2009).
PHOTOS FROM THE FRONTLINE: TIM PAGE EXHIBIT, FILM & TALK
Tim Page is showing unseen photographs from Cuba and Cambodia, and Communism, in the Art café. When communism gets to the tropics it's flavour certainly changes colours; still with plenty of red. It devolves in Cambodia into a Buddhist saffron socialism - in Cuba it becomes a carnival. The erstwhile colonial powers have left their pastel stuccos and shutters. The folk smile back even when beset with their problems of survival. There is always a synergy and an image. Afterwards, screening of "BEYOND WORDS - PHOTOGRAPHERS OF WAR", an unique documentary focusing on 24 off-camera interviews with leading photojournalists from WWII to the present. (Canada, 60mins, 2005).
WEDNESDAY, 14/07, 7 PM
FACTS ABOUT "F*CK": OUR FAVOURITE FOUR-LETTER-FILM
You have to watch this provocative documentary by US director/producer Steve Anderson, who takes a look at all sides of the infamous F-word. It's taboo, obscene and controversial, yet somehow seems to permeate every single aspect of our culture. "F*CK" (2005, 93mins) will exam how the word is impacting our world today through interviews, film and television clips, music, and original animation by Oscar nominee Bill Plympton. It features commentary by linguists, comedians, artists, musicians, filmmakers, authors, porn stars, politicians, and media personalities as well as clips from George W. Bush's one-fingered salute to U2's Golden Globe acceptance.
THURSDAY, 15/07, 7 PM
"ENCOURAGE, AND I CAN" AND "RISE UP!": LIVING WITH DISABILITIES
The percentage of Cambodians who live with a disability ranks amongst the highest in the world. The film ENCOURAGE, AND I CAN (32mins) by EPIC ARTS and Purple Field Productions, introduces you to Chakriya, a young wheelchair user who strives to overcome difficulties and prejudice to realize her dream of working in the arts. The Meta House film RISE UP! documents the TIGA program of the NGO HANDICAP INTERNATIONAL, where landmine and polio victims receive vocational training. Khmer sign language is added to make the films accessible to those who are deaf. The stars of ENCOURAGE, AND I CAN and filmmaker Chum Reap (RISE UP!) will be present (Q&A).
FRIDAY, 16/07, 7 PM
TIGER JAM: NEW LIVE MUSIC AND PARTY SERIES AT META HOUSE
Strap a rocket to a tuk-tuk, light the fuse, seat belts on, hold your breath 3-2-1 Blast Off!! THE CAMBODIAN SPACE PROJECT fronted by Khmer singer Srey Thy, plays psychedelic rock like "The Doors" crossed with Cambodian Jungle (Big) Beats. The stratospheric rise of The Cambodian Space Project has caught those witnessing the spectacle of this cosmic cross-culture rock band as it blasts across the dusty highways of Cambodia by surprise. Be there or be square! In our rooftop cinema we are screening VIDEOS AND NEW SOUNDZ OF PHNOM PENH all night long – featuring DJ SDEY, MC CURLY, THOM THOM, MESSENGER BAND, KLAP-YA-HANDZ HIP HOP COLLECTIVE and many more.
SATURDAY, 17/07, 7PM
"NOWHERE BOY": JOHN LENNON'S CHILDHOOD
English rock band "The Beatles" were one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Artist Sam Taylor-Wood tells the never seen before childhood story of singer/songwriter John Lennon. Liverpool 1955: a smart and troubled fifteen year old is hungry for experience. In a family full of secrets, two incredible women clash over John. He escapes into the new and exciting world of rock n' roll where his fledgling genius finds a kindred spirit in the teenage Paul McCartney. Just as John begins his new life, tragedy strikes. But a resilient young man finds his voice — and an icon explodes into the world. (UK, 98mins, 2009).
SUNDAY, 18/07, 7 PM
"DESERT FLOWER": A TRUE FAIRY TALE
When Waris Dirie's book DESERT FLOWER appeared in 1998, the world was shocked. Director Sherry Hormann describes the autobiography of Waris, raised in a Somalian nomadic family, who was circumcised as a child, sold in marriage at 13, and fled from Africa to Europe to later become a supermodel. Now Waris Dirie is UN spokeswoman against circumcision. This is the inspiring story of an extraordinary, proud and brave women. It's easy to forget that Dirie's memoir is a book about someone whose success has come from posing for the camera. Indeed, it is Dirie's remarkable lack of narcissism or entitlement that makes her so captivating a raconteur (Germany, 120mins, 2009).
TUESDAY, 27/07, 7 PM
GENDERED LENS: AN INSIDER LOOK INTO CAMBODIA'S VIRGINITY TRADE
Prostitution in Cambodia is illegal, but Cambodia still has a problem of sex tourism involving minors. The new film CAMBODIA: THE VIRGINITY TRADE (2009, 60mins) is the utterly alarming account of the lives of girls and women affected by the virginity trade that exists in Cambodia today. Many Asian men believe that obtaining a virgin girl for sex will grant them extra health and luck. THE GIRLS OF PHNOM PENH (2009, 64mins) follows three victims over six months. Srey Leak was deflowered when she was 14. Her two friends, Me Nea and Cheata, opted to sell themselves to support their families. NGO representatives will attend the screening (Q&A).
WEDNESDAY, 28/07, 6 PM
KHIN ZAW LATT: CONTEMPORARY ART FROM MYANMAR (BURMA)
Female Burmese artist Khin Zaw Latt (born 1980) won the first prize at Myanmar Contemporary Art Awards 2008. After several exhibitions in her home country and residencies in India, Nepal and Malaysia, we are proud to host Khin Zaw Latt's first exhibition in Cambodia. After the opening be our guest in our cinema for THE BURMESE HARP by Kon Ichikawa (Japan, 116mins, 1956). This film, magnificently shot in black and white, remains one of Japanese cinema's most overwhelming antiwar statements. We are following the actions of a young Japanese officer separated from his battalion in Burma and his silence transformation from warrior to Buddhist monk.
THURSDAY, 29/07, 7 PM
LUCKY PIGS OF KAMPONG TRACH: META HOUSE FILM SCHOOL NIGHT
In April 2009 Meta House opened a masters class for young Cambodian filmmakers: The M.E.T.A. Program (Media Education and Training Academy) aims at strengthening the Cambodian film scene and is funded by the Goethe Institut. Tonight's "ScreenDocs" event features student films as well as the new MH production THE LUCKY PIGS OF KAMPONG TRACH in coop. with DAI and USAID. This film by Nico Mesterharm (director), Mark Hammond (camera), Ian White (camera) and Jean Mathis (editing) is an introduction to the pig-farming industry in Kampot. There 39 farmers producing their own pig feed, which is cheaper and better than its imported competitor. Filmmakers will be present.
FRIDAY, 30/07, 6 PM
GREEN NIGHT FEAT MUSIC BY PHNOM PENH HOT STRING JAZZ CLUB
2010 ways to save the environment! SMART MOBILE & META HOUSE invite you again to a night full of good ideas and creative approaches. Get the chance to learn more about Cambodian eco-projects, new business concepts, and meet the people behind it. Short films from Cambodia are presented by Britta Heine, German expert for climate change and global warming. Musicians from Cambodia, Germany, Sweden, Australia and Belgium have set up the PHNOM PENH HOT STRINGS JAZZ CLUB. Crossover Jazz 'n Gipsy is artfully blended with Boogie, Funk, Rock'n Roll & Blues. The skillful musicians promise to deliver a groovy performance in our gallery, where nobody can keep their feet still...
SATURDAY, 31/07, 7 PM
BANCHETTO MUSICALE - CLASSICAL MUSIC SERIES @ ART CAFÉ
The Italian term "Banchetto Musicale" translates as "musical feast" (musical dinner party). The Phnom Penh "Art Café", which was founded by German musician Anton Isselhardt, has made its name by hosting musical events of high quality as well as serving fine German and international food. Tonight's "Banchetto Musicale" is put together by the Art Café-team. It provides a view into the European tradition of court and bourgeois music cultures of the past centuries. You are invited to experience and enjoy this unusual concept of musical sound from a different time period in a new way. German Baroque Masters will be performed by Dahyun Kim (oboe) & Anton Isselhardt (flute).
GENDERED LENS: AN INSIDER LOOK INTO CAMBODIA'S VIRGINITY TRADE
Prostitution in Cambodia is illegal, but Cambodia still has a problem of sex tourism involving minors. The new film CAMBODIA: THE VIRGINITY TRADE (2009, 60mins) is the utterly alarming account of the lives of girls and women affected by the virginity trade that exists in Cambodia today. Many Asian men believe that obtaining a virgin girl for sex will grant them extra health and luck. THE GIRLS OF PHNOM PENH (2009, 64mins) follows three victims over six months. Srey Leak was deflowered when she was 14. Her two friends, Me Nea and Cheata, opted to sell themselves to support their families. NGO representatives will attend the screening (Q&A).
WEDNESDAY, 28/07, 6 PM
KHIN ZAW LATT: CONTEMPORARY ART FROM MYANMAR (BURMA)
Female Burmese artist Khin Zaw Latt (born 1980) won the first prize at Myanmar Contemporary Art Awards 2008. After several exhibitions in her home country and residencies in India, Nepal and Malaysia, we are proud to host Khin Zaw Latt's first exhibition in Cambodia. After the opening be our guest in our cinema for THE BURMESE HARP by Kon Ichikawa (Japan, 116mins, 1956). This film, magnificently shot in black and white, remains one of Japanese cinema's most overwhelming antiwar statements. We are following the actions of a young Japanese officer separated from his battalion in Burma and his silence transformation from warrior to Buddhist monk.
THURSDAY, 29/07, 7 PM
LUCKY PIGS OF KAMPONG TRACH: META HOUSE FILM SCHOOL NIGHT
In April 2009 Meta House opened a masters class for young Cambodian filmmakers: The M.E.T.A. Program (Media Education and Training Academy) aims at strengthening the Cambodian film scene and is funded by the Goethe Institut. Tonight's "ScreenDocs" event features student films as well as the new MH production THE LUCKY PIGS OF KAMPONG TRACH in coop. with DAI and USAID. This film by Nico Mesterharm (director), Mark Hammond (camera), Ian White (camera) and Jean Mathis (editing) is an introduction to the pig-farming industry in Kampot. There 39 farmers producing their own pig feed, which is cheaper and better than its imported competitor. Filmmakers will be present.
FRIDAY, 30/07, 6 PM
GREEN NIGHT FEAT MUSIC BY PHNOM PENH HOT STRING JAZZ CLUB
2010 ways to save the environment! SMART MOBILE & META HOUSE invite you again to a night full of good ideas and creative approaches. Get the chance to learn more about Cambodian eco-projects, new business concepts, and meet the people behind it. Short films from Cambodia are presented by Britta Heine, German expert for climate change and global warming. Musicians from Cambodia, Germany, Sweden, Australia and Belgium have set up the PHNOM PENH HOT STRINGS JAZZ CLUB. Crossover Jazz 'n Gipsy is artfully blended with Boogie, Funk, Rock'n Roll & Blues. The skillful musicians promise to deliver a groovy performance in our gallery, where nobody can keep their feet still...
SATURDAY, 31/07, 7 PM
BANCHETTO MUSICALE - CLASSICAL MUSIC SERIES @ ART CAFÉ
The Italian term "Banchetto Musicale" translates as "musical feast" (musical dinner party). The Phnom Penh "Art Café", which was founded by German musician Anton Isselhardt, has made its name by hosting musical events of high quality as well as serving fine German and international food. Tonight's "Banchetto Musicale" is put together by the Art Café-team. It provides a view into the European tradition of court and bourgeois music cultures of the past centuries. You are invited to experience and enjoy this unusual concept of musical sound from a different time period in a new way. German Baroque Masters will be performed by Dahyun Kim (oboe) & Anton Isselhardt (flute).
TUESDAY, 06/07, 7 PM
NEW GERMAN BLOCKBUSTER: MICHAEL HANEKE'S "WHITE RIBBON"
Austrian writer-director Michael Haneke once cited Roberto Rossellini's "Germany Year Zero" (1948), shot in postwar Berlin, as a key influence on his cinematic thinking. The devastating story of a young boy's corruption in the midst of literal and spiritual rubble posed a question: How did it come to this? Haneke's latest film and Palm d'Or-winning period drama (2009, 145mins) tries to answer that question by way of historical prologue. Set a generation earlier in 1913, it relays a series of mysterious cruelties perpetrated by unknown parties in a German village. Watching the daisy chain of events is akin to auditing a seminar on incipient fascism...
WEDNESDAY, 07/07, 7 PM
"CASTAWAY ON THE MOON": CONTEMPORARY KOREAN CINEMA NIGHT
A potential suicide becomes a Robinson Crusoe on an island in the middle of Seoul. But the smart film idea of renowned Korean writer/director Lee Hae-joon soon morphs into much, much more, and in touching, unexpected ways. The perspective shifts to the river's north bank, to a high-rise apartment where a super-nerdy young woman starts observing him through her powerful camera. Hae-Joon's choice of letting quick and clever pills of ironic wisdom guide his story in the form of narration is quite ingenious, particularly considering how the hilarity which ensues is always mixed with the bittersweet realization that, well, such is life (2009, 116 mins).
THURSDAY, 08/07, 7 PM
CAMBODIAN PREMIERES: "YELLOW OX MOUNTAIN" & "BEIJING TAXI"
Born in Beijing, China just after the Cultural Revolution, Miao Wang grew up with the last remnants of pre-modernized Communist China. She immigrated with her parents to the United States in 1990. In New York City she began to explore her passions in photography and film. Tonight we welcome Ms. Wang, who will present her two films YELLOW OX MOUNTAIN (2006, 30mins) and BEIJING TAXI (2009). The 2008 Summer Olympic Games serve as the backdrop for BEIJING TAXI's story of three taxi drivers, a coming out party for a rising nation. Tickets sell for 5 USD per person including one drink. Khmer students receive a 50% discount when presenting their student ID.
FRIDAY, 09/07, 7 PM
CAMBODIAN PREMIERES: YELLOW OX MOUNTAIN & BEIJING TAXI
Born in Beijing, China just after the Cultural Revolution, Miao Wang grew up with the last remnants of pre-modernized Communist China. She immigrated with her parents to the United States in 1990. In New York City she began to explore her passions in photography and film. Tonight we welcome Ms. Wang, who will present her two films YELLOW OX MOUNTAIN (2006, 30mins) and BEIJING TAXI (2009). The 2008 Summer Olympic Games serve as the backdrop for BEIJING TAXI's story of three taxi drivers, a coming out party for a rising nation. Tickets sell for 5 USD per person including one drink. Khmer students receive a 50% discount when presenting their student ID.
SATURDAY, 10/07, 7 PM
RAINBOW NIGHT: "A SINGLE MAN", NEW QUEER CINEMA AND ART
"New Queer Cinema" is the contemporary appearance on the independent film circuit of movies dealing openly with queer culture and politics that began in the early 1990s. The 1964 novel A SINGLE MAN by Christopher Isherwood depicts one day in the life of a gay university professor in Los Angeles. Edmund White called it "one of the first and best novels of the modern Gay Liberation movement". In 2008, designer Tom Ford directed this adaptation featuring Colin Firth, which won him the Volpi Cup for Best Actor at the 66th Venice International Film Festival. Moreover guest artist Gabby Miller will present her art project, and Queer art in Vietnam and the USA.
SUNDAY, 11/07, 7 PM
"SAME SAME BUT DIFFERENT": AN UNIQUE KHMER-GERMAN LOVE STORY
This new German feature film (2009, 107min) is based on a memoir by journalist Benjamin Pruefer, who fell in love with a Khmer bar girl. Both are little more than kids in appearance but their characters in real life faced tremendous problems when Ben returned to Hamburg and Sreykeo discovered she was HIV-positive. German star director Detlev Buck invests considerable emotions and no little realism in an unblinking depiction of Third World wretchedness and the western sex tourism that gets off on flirting with potential disaster. SAME SAME BUT DIFFERENT will be screened in a Khmer dubbed version with English subtitles only at the new Meta House Phnom Penh.
NEW GERMAN BLOCKBUSTER: MICHAEL HANEKE'S "WHITE RIBBON"
Austrian writer-director Michael Haneke once cited Roberto Rossellini's "Germany Year Zero" (1948), shot in postwar Berlin, as a key influence on his cinematic thinking. The devastating story of a young boy's corruption in the midst of literal and spiritual rubble posed a question: How did it come to this? Haneke's latest film and Palm d'Or-winning period drama (2009, 145mins) tries to answer that question by way of historical prologue. Set a generation earlier in 1913, it relays a series of mysterious cruelties perpetrated by unknown parties in a German village. Watching the daisy chain of events is akin to auditing a seminar on incipient fascism...
WEDNESDAY, 07/07, 7 PM
"CASTAWAY ON THE MOON": CONTEMPORARY KOREAN CINEMA NIGHT
A potential suicide becomes a Robinson Crusoe on an island in the middle of Seoul. But the smart film idea of renowned Korean writer/director Lee Hae-joon soon morphs into much, much more, and in touching, unexpected ways. The perspective shifts to the river's north bank, to a high-rise apartment where a super-nerdy young woman starts observing him through her powerful camera. Hae-Joon's choice of letting quick and clever pills of ironic wisdom guide his story in the form of narration is quite ingenious, particularly considering how the hilarity which ensues is always mixed with the bittersweet realization that, well, such is life (2009, 116 mins).
THURSDAY, 08/07, 7 PM
CAMBODIAN PREMIERES: "YELLOW OX MOUNTAIN" & "BEIJING TAXI"
Born in Beijing, China just after the Cultural Revolution, Miao Wang grew up with the last remnants of pre-modernized Communist China. She immigrated with her parents to the United States in 1990. In New York City she began to explore her passions in photography and film. Tonight we welcome Ms. Wang, who will present her two films YELLOW OX MOUNTAIN (2006, 30mins) and BEIJING TAXI (2009). The 2008 Summer Olympic Games serve as the backdrop for BEIJING TAXI's story of three taxi drivers, a coming out party for a rising nation. Tickets sell for 5 USD per person including one drink. Khmer students receive a 50% discount when presenting their student ID.
FRIDAY, 09/07, 7 PM
CAMBODIAN PREMIERES: YELLOW OX MOUNTAIN & BEIJING TAXI
Born in Beijing, China just after the Cultural Revolution, Miao Wang grew up with the last remnants of pre-modernized Communist China. She immigrated with her parents to the United States in 1990. In New York City she began to explore her passions in photography and film. Tonight we welcome Ms. Wang, who will present her two films YELLOW OX MOUNTAIN (2006, 30mins) and BEIJING TAXI (2009). The 2008 Summer Olympic Games serve as the backdrop for BEIJING TAXI's story of three taxi drivers, a coming out party for a rising nation. Tickets sell for 5 USD per person including one drink. Khmer students receive a 50% discount when presenting their student ID.
SATURDAY, 10/07, 7 PM
RAINBOW NIGHT: "A SINGLE MAN", NEW QUEER CINEMA AND ART
"New Queer Cinema" is the contemporary appearance on the independent film circuit of movies dealing openly with queer culture and politics that began in the early 1990s. The 1964 novel A SINGLE MAN by Christopher Isherwood depicts one day in the life of a gay university professor in Los Angeles. Edmund White called it "one of the first and best novels of the modern Gay Liberation movement". In 2008, designer Tom Ford directed this adaptation featuring Colin Firth, which won him the Volpi Cup for Best Actor at the 66th Venice International Film Festival. Moreover guest artist Gabby Miller will present her art project, and Queer art in Vietnam and the USA.
SUNDAY, 11/07, 7 PM
"SAME SAME BUT DIFFERENT": AN UNIQUE KHMER-GERMAN LOVE STORY
This new German feature film (2009, 107min) is based on a memoir by journalist Benjamin Pruefer, who fell in love with a Khmer bar girl. Both are little more than kids in appearance but their characters in real life faced tremendous problems when Ben returned to Hamburg and Sreykeo discovered she was HIV-positive. German star director Detlev Buck invests considerable emotions and no little realism in an unblinking depiction of Third World wretchedness and the western sex tourism that gets off on flirting with potential disaster. SAME SAME BUT DIFFERENT will be screened in a Khmer dubbed version with English subtitles only at the new Meta House Phnom Penh.
TUESDAY, 20/07, 6 PM
EXHIBITION OPENING: GLOBAL HYBRID
GLOBAL HYBRID is an independent exhibition series started in 2008, and is organized between the cities Phnom Penh and Long Beach/California biannually. Long Beach was one of the first settlement communities for Cambodian refugees in the 1980s and is now home to the largest community outside Cambodia of Cambodian migrants. Each exhibition involves artists from different identity groups who are all connected by Cambodia. This exhibition is part of the 60th anniversary celebration of Cambodian US American diplomacy. Screening in our cinema: REBIRTH – THE REVIVAL OF THE CAMBODIAN ART SCENE with video art, short docs and films by/with over 50 Khmer artists.
WEDNESDAY, 21/07, 6.30 PM & 8.30 PM
THE ASIAN PREMIERE SCREENING AT META: "ENEMIES OF THE PEOPLE"
Winner of this year's "Sundance Festival", this remarkable documentary (2009, 93 mins) is a personal journey into the heart of darkness by journalist/filmmaker Thet Sambath, whose family was wiped out in the Killing Fields. Nuon Chea aka Brother Number Two breaks a 30-year silence to give testimony never before heard or seen. This is investigative journalism of the highest order. US director Rob Lemkin and Thet Sambath and will attend the screenings (Q&A). Tickets sell for 5 USD to help finance the Khmer version of this important film. One drink is included. Khmer students receive a 50% discount when presenting their student ID. Screening times are 6.30PM and 8.30PM.
THURSDAY, 22/07, 6.30 PM & 8.30 PM
THE ASIAN PREMIERE SCREENING AT META: "ENEMIES OF THE PEOPLE"
This film by Rob Lemkin and Teth Sambath (2009, 93 mins) tells the story of the men and women who perpetrated the massacres in Cambodia's unsolved past. Teth Sambath says: "In daring to confess they have done good, perhaps the only good thing left. They and all the killers like them must be part of the process of reconciliation if my country is to move forward." Thet Sambath and Rob Lemkin will attend the screenings (Q&A). Tickets sell for 5 USD per person to help finance the Khmer version of this important film. One drink is included. Khmer students receive a 50% discount when presenting their student ID. Screening times are 6.30PM and 8.30PM.
FRIDAY, 23/07, 6.30 PM & 8.30 PM
THE ASIAN PREMIERE SCREENING AT META: "ENEMIES OF THE PEOPLE"
One of the most harrowing and compelling personal documentaries of our time, ENEMIES OF THE PEOPLE (2009, 93 mins) exposes for the first time the truth about the Killing Fields and the Khmer Rouge who were behind Cambodia's horrific genocide. The film is also a profound meditation on the nature of good and evil, shedding light on the capacity of some people to do terrible things and for others to forgive them. Thet Sambath and Rob Lemkin will attend the screenings (Q&A). Tickets sell for 5 USD per person to help finance the Khmer version of this important film. One drink is included. Khmer students receive a 50% discount when presenting their student ID.
SATURDAY, 24/07
A LITTLE MOZART NIGHT: PIANO RECITAL AND THE "KHMER MAGIC FLUTE"
Anton Isselhardt's "Art+Foundation" presents this concert with German piano player Stephan Rahn in the tradition of the "Bach-Abel Concert Series", initiated by German composers Carl Friedrich Abel and Johann Christian Bach. Originally planned as a series of concerts, these public concerts became a famous yearly musical event in London from 1765 to 1782. As homage, Art+ presents 20 concerts in the format of four "Bach-Abel-Concerts" in Phnom Penh. This event is followed by a rooftop screening of PAMINA DEVI (9PM) - a Cambodian interpretation of Mozart's "The Magic Flute" by renowned choreographer Sophiline Cheam Shapiro and her Khmer Arts Ensemble.
SUNDAY, 25/07, 7 PM
BEFORE THE DUCH VERDICT: "WE WANT (U) TO KNOW"
We invite you for the screening of a new community media piece, produced in cooperation with TPO and the Khmer Institute of Democracy: The film "WE WANT (U) TO KNOW" reveals through artistic engagement, how Cambodians struggle and cope with painful memories during the Khmer Rouge Tribunal. It is a participatory film: villagers from around Cambodia took the camera in their hands to document what they have gone through. Through sharing their stories with the young generation, survivors are breaking 30 years of silence. Film screenings in villages across the country offer a public space for dialogue about the past and challenges of the present.
EXHIBITION OPENING: GLOBAL HYBRID
GLOBAL HYBRID is an independent exhibition series started in 2008, and is organized between the cities Phnom Penh and Long Beach/California biannually. Long Beach was one of the first settlement communities for Cambodian refugees in the 1980s and is now home to the largest community outside Cambodia of Cambodian migrants. Each exhibition involves artists from different identity groups who are all connected by Cambodia. This exhibition is part of the 60th anniversary celebration of Cambodian US American diplomacy. Screening in our cinema: REBIRTH – THE REVIVAL OF THE CAMBODIAN ART SCENE with video art, short docs and films by/with over 50 Khmer artists.
WEDNESDAY, 21/07, 6.30 PM & 8.30 PM
THE ASIAN PREMIERE SCREENING AT META: "ENEMIES OF THE PEOPLE"
Winner of this year's "Sundance Festival", this remarkable documentary (2009, 93 mins) is a personal journey into the heart of darkness by journalist/filmmaker Thet Sambath, whose family was wiped out in the Killing Fields. Nuon Chea aka Brother Number Two breaks a 30-year silence to give testimony never before heard or seen. This is investigative journalism of the highest order. US director Rob Lemkin and Thet Sambath and will attend the screenings (Q&A). Tickets sell for 5 USD to help finance the Khmer version of this important film. One drink is included. Khmer students receive a 50% discount when presenting their student ID. Screening times are 6.30PM and 8.30PM.
THURSDAY, 22/07, 6.30 PM & 8.30 PM
THE ASIAN PREMIERE SCREENING AT META: "ENEMIES OF THE PEOPLE"
This film by Rob Lemkin and Teth Sambath (2009, 93 mins) tells the story of the men and women who perpetrated the massacres in Cambodia's unsolved past. Teth Sambath says: "In daring to confess they have done good, perhaps the only good thing left. They and all the killers like them must be part of the process of reconciliation if my country is to move forward." Thet Sambath and Rob Lemkin will attend the screenings (Q&A). Tickets sell for 5 USD per person to help finance the Khmer version of this important film. One drink is included. Khmer students receive a 50% discount when presenting their student ID. Screening times are 6.30PM and 8.30PM.
FRIDAY, 23/07, 6.30 PM & 8.30 PM
THE ASIAN PREMIERE SCREENING AT META: "ENEMIES OF THE PEOPLE"
One of the most harrowing and compelling personal documentaries of our time, ENEMIES OF THE PEOPLE (2009, 93 mins) exposes for the first time the truth about the Killing Fields and the Khmer Rouge who were behind Cambodia's horrific genocide. The film is also a profound meditation on the nature of good and evil, shedding light on the capacity of some people to do terrible things and for others to forgive them. Thet Sambath and Rob Lemkin will attend the screenings (Q&A). Tickets sell for 5 USD per person to help finance the Khmer version of this important film. One drink is included. Khmer students receive a 50% discount when presenting their student ID.
SATURDAY, 24/07
A LITTLE MOZART NIGHT: PIANO RECITAL AND THE "KHMER MAGIC FLUTE"
Anton Isselhardt's "Art+Foundation" presents this concert with German piano player Stephan Rahn in the tradition of the "Bach-Abel Concert Series", initiated by German composers Carl Friedrich Abel and Johann Christian Bach. Originally planned as a series of concerts, these public concerts became a famous yearly musical event in London from 1765 to 1782. As homage, Art+ presents 20 concerts in the format of four "Bach-Abel-Concerts" in Phnom Penh. This event is followed by a rooftop screening of PAMINA DEVI (9PM) - a Cambodian interpretation of Mozart's "The Magic Flute" by renowned choreographer Sophiline Cheam Shapiro and her Khmer Arts Ensemble.
SUNDAY, 25/07, 7 PM
BEFORE THE DUCH VERDICT: "WE WANT (U) TO KNOW"
We invite you for the screening of a new community media piece, produced in cooperation with TPO and the Khmer Institute of Democracy: The film "WE WANT (U) TO KNOW" reveals through artistic engagement, how Cambodians struggle and cope with painful memories during the Khmer Rouge Tribunal. It is a participatory film: villagers from around Cambodia took the camera in their hands to document what they have gone through. Through sharing their stories with the young generation, survivors are breaking 30 years of silence. Film screenings in villages across the country offer a public space for dialogue about the past and challenges of the present.
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