The year is rapidly drawing to a close and so the OPCC is taking a look back at some of the documentaries produced by our members over the course of 2023.

Screenings will begin at 6.30pm sharp, so get yourself a drink and get settled in for our lineup:

Lost Lands by Andy Ball (6.30pm-6.45pm)

Cambodia’s appetite for sand has exploded, but as the thirst for sand grows, so does the uncertainty over the future of the Mekong and its communities. Lost Lands follows two families as they’re left to bear the consequences in the wake of Cambodia’s rapid development.

The Haul by Ruom Collective (6.45pm-6.55pm)

The film connects the lives of two Cambodian garment workers with a fashion vlogger and influencer based in the United Kingdom. The workers face worsening labor conditions in new sub-contracting or shadow factories which increased in number as the pandemic progressed into its second year.

Not Love Songs by Jack Brook (6.55pm-7.10pm)

A video of young Cambodian rapper Kea Sokun performing social justice-themed, nationalist songs goes viral in 2020. But these songs ultimately lead to his arrest and imprisonment for a year on charges of “incitement to commit a felony” — one of the most common tools of suppression by the Cambodian government. This law has increasingly been wielded against citizens expressing political opinion on social media. While the government portrays Sokun as an opposition-funded musician calling for an uprising, his parents argue that he was just a kid making music in his room.

The Flooded Forest by Nehru Pry (7.10pm-7.20pm)

The Tonle Sap Lake in Cambodia is facing significant challenges from deforestation, climate change and dam-induced changes to the flow of the water from the Mekong River. Despite these challenges, the Kampong Phluk community in Siem Reap province has been working to preserve the flooded forest. Known locally as Prey Kub, the flooded forest has become a source of community development, biodiversity preservation and food security. This film is about the relationship of villagers with the flooded forest and the fish in the Tonle Sap Lake.

The Last Mangrove by Roun Ry (7.20pm-7.45pm + Q&A)

Roun’s photography presentation will walk us through his documentation of Cambodia’s vanishing mangrove forests, which are being destroyed along the coast at an alarming rate. From 1989 to 2017, Cambodia lost almost half of its mangrove forests at a rate of 1,415 hectares per year. Besides protecting coastal communities from flooding and storms, mangrove forests are excellent at storing carbon, create incredibly biodiverse habitats and subsequently support the livelihoods of fishing communities along Cambodia’s transforming coast.

After the screenings and presentation, join the OPCC for drinks and a chance to catch up before we brace for whatever fresh hell 2024 has in store for us.