Resilience Rising, Stories of Women fighting for peace

Day 5 features two presentations about Cambodians in the American diaspora by filmmakers Dr. Lin Da Saphan and Penh Samnang Kann.

Reel Histories with Dr. LinDa Saphan. This event promises to be an enlightening deep-dive into the overlooked legacy of Cambodian film history.

Nate Hun: A Magnificent Obsession

"[... ] Just like Nate, we are enthralled by the spectacle of costume, music, and design. We never want this enchantment to end, and we have his magnificent obsession to thank for it." LinDa Saphan

To learn more get your copy of MARG1N

Visual Cultures: Cambodian Cinematic Language Lecture Series by Dr. LinDa Saphan will be held on Thursdays from February 15 to May 2, 2024.

This webinar spotlights the films of Uong Citta, previously known as Uong Kanthouk. Dr. LinDa Saphan will discuss Uong’s remarkable journey with filmmaking along with that of other Cambodian female directors from the early era. We will look at several of Uong’s films. In Thavary Meas Bong Uong clearly set herself apart as a filmmaker with this drama by diving deep into her characters’ obsessions and unrequited love. Additionally, we will take a look at Mouy Meun Alay, where Uong pushed her scriptwriting and directorial skills further by depicting the trauma of war. While the film industry traditionally favored films about magical fantasy worlds, Uong chose to depict the war’s impacts on the individual level, thereby reflecting what the country was experiencing. Her last film Pel Del Trov Youm is her love letter to the film industry and to her muse, Vichara Dany. This film is a unique meta-narrative that centers on the dynamics and blurry line between personal and professional life in the film business.

“Representation matters, and I hope that seeing a Cambodian woman secure such a distinguished grant will encourage young women—especially my students—to continue on to graduate school and pursue careers in research.”

"New York City in Transformation," edited by LinDa Saphan and Jennifer M. Pipitone, profiles urban transformations in New York City, broadly defined and ranging from mundane daily rhythms of the city to the extraordinary. Together, nine academic and artistic selections highlight the myriad ways in which urban transformations can take place: at varying scales and speeds; at varying levels of visibility; and at the hands of different stakeholders, actors, and agents of change.

Click here to access the journal

A movie premiere style book launch for the first book on Cambodian early Cinema. The DMC team did a fantastic job at organizing a beautiful events at the Prime Cineplex Samai Square in Phnom Penh. A grandiose book launch attended by the movie industry people.

There was a need to document the contribution of early Cambodian cinema and its recent revival as an art form from Cambodians in the homeland and in the diaspora. Hence Dr. LinDa Saphan recent work focuses on Cambodia’s visual and popular culture of the early years of Cambodian cinema Faded Reels: The Art of Four Cambodian Filmmakers 1960-1975 will be published in July 2022 in English and in Khmer by the Royal University of Phnom Penh, department of Media and Communication. The book covers the early history of Cambodian cinema and focuses on four directors: Ly Bun Yim, Tea Lim Koun, Yvon Hem, and Uong Citta (aka Kanthouk).

Faded Reels: The Art of Four Cambodian Filmmakers, 1960-1975 brings to light the essential contributions to world cinema made by Cambodia’s greatest pre war directors: Ly Bun Yim, Tea Lim Koun, Yvon Hem, and Uong Citta (Kanthouk). With in-depth plot summaries, stunning screenshots, and discussions of 16 rare Cambodian films, this book gives readers access to a largely undocumented period of Southeast Asian film history. A Cambodian cinema history for movie lovers and film scholars alike, Faded Reels includes detailed scene descriptions that feature the technical craftsmanship, innovation, complex storytelling, compelling characters, and beautiful cinematography of each director, while situating their biographies in the socio-cultural context of Cambodian history. Highlights include an exclusive interview with director Uong Citta, and chapters focusing on key films such as The Snake Man, The Twelve Sisters Story, Sovannahong, and Thavary Meas Bong. Extensively researched, this first analysis of the early Cambodian films is an addition to global cinema.