AsiaLIFE

Photography in Cambodia is not an exclusive Phnom Penh preserve, this month sees the fourth Angkor Photography Festival and as Mark Jackson discovers there has been a shift of emphasis from last year.

Created in 2005, the Angkor Photography Festival is the first of its type in Southeast Asia, according to the organisers. “The Angkor Photography Festival differentiates itself from other photography events with its strong educational, therapeutic and humanitarian goals,” they claim. Two exhibitions, one featuring the works of Christian Caujolle – the creator of photo agency VU – and the other showcasing Korean photographer Sujong Song, will open during the festival (Nov. 23 to Nov. 28). There will also be a series of slideshows featuring the works of photographers from around the globe.

Last year’s festival included gala events in five-star hotels dotted around Siem Reap. This year in many respects the organisers have gone back to the roots of the festival. It could be argued that last year’s gala events distracted from the humanitarian and developmental side of the festival.Like last year, there will be free photographic workshops for 30 young photographers who work in photojournalism and documentary-based photography. Through this programme, the organisers hope to guide emerging photographers in developing the skills to better document their own societies, understand universal ethical and professional standards, and eventually create a vibrant photographic network across Asia.

The festival also features a special day for the Anjali Children’s project (Nov. 27) at Wat Athvea. This centre was established for 80 children by the NGO Photography for Change to provide them with “a safe and fun educational environment.” The organisation claims that the centre offers pioneering work “in combining arts therapies and photography to provide a powerful way of supporting and enabling transformation in the lives of people in difficulty.” Every day, Anjali kids take English and Khmer classes and take part in creative art workshops. Anjali also subsidises public school for all the children and provides them with a rice allowance to take home to their families. Many of Anjali's children are from poor or troubled families and most of them used to beg on the streets of Siem Reap helping their parents to feed their families.

For more details of the festival, visit the website on: www.photographyforchange.net.
Angkor Photography Festival Festival, Siem Reap, Nov. 23 to Nov. 28.

FESTIVAL SCHEDULE
Nov. 23
at 8pm – Opening evening at the FCC; Carte blanche: Christian Caujolle; Acoustic Concert by Juram from the Philippines

Nov. 24
at 6pm – Exhibition opening at the McDermott Gallery; Sohrab Hura – Life is Elsewhere, India; Munem Wasif – Rohingya Refugees (Illegal Immigrants from Myanmar, Bangladesh); James Withlow Delano – Burma: A Flameless Inferno
at 8.30pm  – Slideshows at the FCC; images of the year: AFP Asia
at 10pm  – Party at the Laundry Bar

Nov. 25
at 6pm – Exhibition opening at the French Cultural Centre; Siddharth Jain – Rajasthan: Current Lives
at 8.30pm – Slideshows at the FCC

Nov. 26
at 8pm – Stop TB Partnership Photo Award, in partnership with Stop TB Tuberculosis / Department of WHO at the Angkor National Museum
at 9pm – Slideshows at the Angkor National Museum

Nov. 27
At 4pm – Special day for the Anjali children’s project at Wat Athvea; nine slideshows selected for the children; one exhibition – Children around the world / Eyedea; making of Children Photo Workshops; floating lanterns show

Nov. 28
At 6pm – Farewell evening at the FCC; Carte blanche: Sujong Song; results of free photo workshops; Paris Match Award for the best reportage produced during the workshops; DJ Glazer from Sweden.