Social Impact Media Awards (SIMA) began as the first and only international media competition to celebrate creative, human rights and humanitarian achievement. Today, SIMA is the most prestigious global curator of social impact, serving the independent film, academic and global social justice communities around the world.

This year, SIMA Traveling Series 2024 teams up with Meta House’s “Speak Out, Sisters” project, featuring a selection of documentaries by and about women from Cambodia and many other countries. Each night, a Cambodian female filmmaker shows and discusses her recent short film, followed by the screening of selected SIMA documentaries. Entrance is free. All films have English subtitles.

VOICES FILM FESTIVAL @ META HOUSE, DAY 4

Breaking Chains, Stories of Courage and Transformation

Sao Sopheak studied film at Meta House and furthered her education at numerous workshops in India, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam. In 2011, she was the first Cambodian female filmmaker ever to be invited at the Berlin Int. Film Festival. Her docus advocate for women empowerment and the upholding of human rights in her home country. SOMEWHERE UNDER THE RAINBOW (2015, 31 min) tells the the story of the Cambodian national Sou Sotheavy, who became the first transgender to testify at an international war crimes tribunal. Q&A after screening.

* SLOWLY, SLOWLY, WE WILL GO TO THE CHANGE”- (Nepal, 2014, 24 min): Filmmakers David Brown and Sandra Fiedeldy document “International Women’s Day” in Kathmandu. Through candid interviews, they explore the many challenges facing women in Nepal today, including sex trafficking, witches’ burning, acid attacks and exploitation.

* AND SO I STAYED (USA, 2021, 91min): Natalie Pattillo’s award winning documentary focuses on survivors of domestic violence who are unjustly incerated for killing their abusers in self-defense. These women paid a steep price with long prison sentences, lost time with loved ones and painful memories…