Now Showing: Cinema Mekong

A variety of compelling stories will open your eyes to the realities, diversity and interconnectedness of the Mekong region via Cinema Mekong, a series of showings of documentaries at the Mekong Media Forum, to be held Dec 9-12, 2009 in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Cinema Mekong features the work of documentary filmmakers and video journalists who have been part of the Imaging Our Mekong Media Fellowship since 2002 — making this unique series of films very much from the lens of local filmmakers — as well as other films that focus on the Mekong region. The works selected for the Forum screenings cover transboundary topics on environment, culture, children, women and cultural identity.

On Dec. 9, Cinema Mekong will feature two views of the Mekong in Thailand’s ‘Mekong: The Untamed’, produced by The Nation Channel, and China Central TV’s ‘Nourished by the Same River’.

The legacy of decades of conflict will be tackled on Dec. 10 with ‘Bomb Harvest’, the multi-awarded documentary by Lemur Films (Australia) that takes a look at the consequences of the war in the region and the continued threat of unexploded ordnance to the people of Lao PDR.

‘Human Zoo’, gives a disturbing look at the Padaung women of Myanmar living in a tourist cultural village in Thailand and ‘Two Villages’, compares the rapid changes of two communities, one Chinese and one Cambodian, in the Mekong region.

The set ends with two light pieces — ‘Taste of Noodles’ and ‘Sticky Rice Container’ — that show how food connects the countries and cultures of the region in various ways.

On Dec. 11, women and children take centre stage with a host of films that tackle issues on sexuality, trafficking and child labour. ‘Lao Youth and Sex Talk’, ‘So Close’, and ‘Displaced Champa’ give voice to women and young people and their views about the taboo topic of sex in Lao society, as well as the dangers trafficked women constantly face.

Children’s voices and viewpoints, meanwhile, come out clear and strong in ‘Children at the Crossing’ and ‘Boy at the Border’, which are set in Cambodia and look into its linkages with neighbours Thailand and Vietnam. Also featured are two films - ‘Laos: It’s Alive!’ and ‘Thailand: Smile Again’ - by TVE Asia-Pacific.
At the Cinema Mekong, sit back, relax and get ready to allow the sounds and images of the Mekong take you on a memorable journey of discovery.