Film
Mekong 2030
Mekong 2030 is a 2020 anthology of five short films from Mekong countries, including Cambodia, that imagine the river's future in 2030.[1] Its directors are Anocha Suwichakornpong, Pham Ngoc Lan, Kulikar Sotho, Anysay Keola and Sai Naw Kham.[1]
Synopsis
The Mekong runs through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.[2] Each filmmaker in the anthology looks ten years ahead along the river from a different national and cultural view.[3][4] The project aims to entertain audiences and to inspire them to protect the river.[3]
Cambodia's contribution, "Soul River" by Kulikar Sotho, opens the anthology.[4] It is set in 2030 in a remote region of northeastern Cambodia. It is a cautionary tale told as a lighthearted river journey, about environmental damage and the effects of climate change on the Mekong basin.[3] Klang lives in the ruins of his village after repeated floods have driven his neighbors downstream. Scavenging to survive, he finds a valuable statue and is blackmailed into sharing the profit.[5] A fisherman and a company man then fight over the lost Khmer relic, which both hope to sell.[6]
The four other films are:
- "The Che Brother" (Laos), by Anysay Keola. Xe returns to the nearly deserted Mekong fishing village where he grew up and steps into a dispute between his siblings over their elderly mother's blood, which a Western company wants for a cure for a deadly plague.[3]
- "The Forgotten Voices of the Mekong" (Myanmar), by Sai Naw Kham. Two women fight to reclaim their lost spirits' bond with the river while rallying their community to protect it.[3] A newly elected village chief seeks development for his poor town as a mining company moves in.[5]
- "The Line" (Thailand), by Anocha Suwichakornpong. As an artist prepares an exhibition on animism and river ecology, the line between the artwork and the world it shows begins to blur.[3]
- "The Unseen River" (Vietnam), by Pham Ngoc Lan. A middle-aged woman travels upstream to find a lover she has not seen in 30 years, while a young couple travels downstream to a strange temple to seek a cure for insomnia.[3] It closes the anthology.[4]
Production and credits
The Luang Prabang Film Festival in Laos initiated and produced the project.[3][2][6] The Cambodia Town Film Festival listing credits Gabriel Shaya Kuperman and Alex Curran-Cardarelli as producers.[7] Kulikar Sotho and Hanuman Films represented Cambodia in the project.[8]
The cast includes Khamtao Changhavong, Khamlee Philavong, Khamhou Phanludeth, Mi Gei, Caleb, Hay Lar May, Nonthachan Prakobsup, Ha Hoang, Minh Chau, Ha Phong, Wean Le, Naomi Huynh, Ma Rynet, Toun Sophy and Rous Monty.[7] The same listing gives the languages as Khmer, Lao, Akha, Thai, Vietnamese and English, and the countries as Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. The film runs 93 minutes.[7]
Release and reception
The anthology premiered at the 2020 virtual edition of the Cambodia Town Film Festival.[1] IMDb lists October 23, 2020, as its United States release date.[9] It also played the 2020 San Diego Asian Film Festival.[4] In 2021 it screened at the Asian Film Archive, in the Reframe: The (In) Hospitable World program, and at the Glasgow Film Festival.[2][6]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Cambodian Moments, Cambodia Town Film Festival Virtual Edition (September 16, 2020)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Asian Film Archive, Mekong 2030 (2020) (2021-01-22)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 mekong2030.org, About the Project (2019-11-01)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 San Diego Asian Film Festival, Mekong 2030 (2020)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Hyperallergic, A River in Crisis Runs Through Southeast Asia (2020-09-08)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 The Wee Review, Mekong 2030 (2021-02-26)
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 cambodianmoments.com, Cambodia Town Film Festival Virtual Edition (2020-09-16)
- ↑ Hanuman Films, Soul River
- ↑ IMDb, Mekong 2030 (2020) (2020-10-23)