Siem Reap’s first film festival, the Angkor Wat International Film Festival, will be held at the Sofitel Angkor Phokeethra Hotel from February 17 to 19. If you haven’t quite made it to Cannes yet, for whatever reason, here’s your chance to practice swirling cocktails, or perhaps a can of Anchor beer, while making come hither eyes at the star and star makers behind the films on show. Or, you could just enjoy a unique opportunity to watch a genuinely fantastic collection of films that have been selected with a focus on preservation of culture and environment. A series of panels at the festival will also discuss topics relating to digital cinema, subjects relevant to film and the festival’s themes.

Like it says, the Angkor Wat International Film Festival is here ...

The festival will showcase films, documentaries and shorts, both live and animated, and aims to act as a counter-point to a world in which the pressures to homogenise cultures are prevailing, promoting consumerism and materialism and placing both traditional cultures and the planet’s ecosystems at risk along the way.

Just a few of the must-see films include Bag It (following one man’s effort to do without plastic), Dreamland (a documentary that seems to have won something at almost every international film festival, which looks at what's gone wrong with Iceland's energy programme and the devastation it has wrought on the environment and economy), Climate Refugees, Gasland (on the dangers posed by hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, including startling scenes of exploding tap water), Home (which promises to be a spectacular view on our world by renowned French photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand), and that’s before I get to the titles under I to Z.

Interestingly, the director of Gasland, Josh Fox, was thrown out of Congress and arrested for attempting to record public congressional hearings related to fracking held on February 1.

Gasland: according to the gas industry, there is nothing wrong with this picture. Now move along.

The opening film comes from Cambodia’s King Father, Norodom Sihanouk, a man who seemingly did everything bar the catering on the numerous films he wrote, produced, starred in, wrote the score for, and directed over the years. In La Cité Mystérieuse he explores Cambodian culture through the eyes of two Cambodian officials who go in search of a mysterious palace lost in the jungles. His second film in the festival, Peasants In Distress, is set during the UNTAC period in 1993, when a love triangle between a peasant and two rebel commanders becomes a tale of loss and betrayal against a backdrop of fear and political upheaval.

The festival organiser is Hawaiian-based Dr Tom Vendetti, a psychologist and Emmy award-winning film director. His films take intimate looks at different aspects of Asian and Pacific cultural life, and include Years of Darkness, a journey with a Cambodian former naval-man, who returns to his country in 2003, 29 years after he left and was stranded in the United States after the Khmer Rouge seized power.

Dreamland: when dreams of prosperity become nightmares of environmental and economic destruction.

Vendetti was asked to bring the festival here by Bernard Krisher, the founder of The Cambodia Daily newspaper back in 1993. Krisher is the subject of a tribute film that will be shown during the opening night gala event, alongside Soul Surfer, the acclaimed story of one girl’s struggle to become a professional surfer despite losing her arm to a shark attack at age 13.

Another Cambodia film that promises to be a big draw is The Trials of Henry Kissinger, based on the book by the renowned Christopher Hitchens and guaranteed to include some shocking revelations.

According to Vendetti, Siem Reap was selected as a destination in part because of its emerging ecotourism industry. The sometimes fraught relationship between conservation goals and the traditions of communities is explored in the multi-award winning documentary, Milking The Rhino, which looks at efforts by the Masai and Himba peoples to adopt and adapt to community based tourism principles that underpin genuine ecotourism.

In total, 31 films will be on show from 13:00 until 23:00 each day, and are free to all. A full schedule and details of the individual films can be found here.

(If you're interested in other Southeast Asian film festivals, Luang Prabang's is held in December each year -- there have been two to date -- and we have an interview with its founder here.)

Tags: Angkor Wat Film Festival, ecotourism, film, Sihanouk

The seventh Angkor Photo Festival is not just a showcase of amazing photography from all over the world. It’s also a local event that strives to promote and train young Cambodian photographers and support disadvantaged children from Siem Reap. They do this through a series of dedicated, free workshops for young photographers led by top photographers from all over the world, and through Anjali House, a shelter for former street children founded by the Festival organisers in 2006.

Halo Trust, Try Sophal.

Sometimes, they can achieve both goals at the same time. Within the extensive programme of support for the 120 kids who come to Anjali six days a week, there is a strong emphasis on arts education. This is not just a self-indulgence. Through painting, drawing, creating, building, playing, experimenting, even blowing things up, the children learn more about the world and themselves, and their confidence grows.

The floods from the inside, Vong Pech.

Naturally, photography has been a strong feature of the arts learning and every year professional photographers spend a few weeks with the kids teaching them the tricks of the trade. Three of those children will have their own exhibitions at this year’s festival, Chan Sokdam, Try Sophal, and Vong Pech.

Both Sokdam and Sophal have had their own exhibitions before, and you’ll be able to find their work at the Raffles Grand Hotel Garden exhibition which runs from November 14 to December 20. They focus on the work of The Halo Trust, a British NGO that has been finding and decommissioning landmines in Cambodia since 1991. Halo Trust were so impressed they offered Sophal a job, which she starts at the end of this month.

Pech took a look at the terrible floods that hit Siem Reap in September and October this year. You’ll be able to get a look at his work on the Festival Opening Night Party today at the FCC Angkor. It offers a perspective that is not always available to foreigners of how local disasters are really experienced locally. Work to help families affected by the floods is ongoing, and you can find out how to contribute here.

The floods from the inside, Vong Pech.

All three young adults have a positive role to play in Cambodia’s future. The confidence that they gain from events such as this, from being viewed by people like you, will be part of what makes them, and Cambodia, a better, more beautiful and stronger place to be.

For more details on the event check out here.

From an earlier series by Vong Pech, the rice paddies behind Anjali House.

Tags: Angkor Photo Festival, floods, photography

It is one of the core elements of Siem Reap’s emerging artistic scene, a sign of its confidence and capacity to host important events, and an investment in the future of Cambodia’s artists. Now in its seventh year, the Angkor Photo Festival is the first international photo festival in Southeast Asia and launches at 20:30 on November 19, at the FCC Angkor.

"Water is life", Cambodia -- Mak Remissa/Asiamotion.

It’s hard to emphasise enough how international the festival is. The work of 110 photographers from all over the world will be on display over the course of the week, with events every evening and a series of 10 exhibitions in locations all over town that usually last longer than the festival itself.

While the festival does not have a theme as such, there is naturally a greater emphasis on Asia and Asian photographers, including young Cambodian students enrolled at Anjali House, an NGO that was established by the Angkor Photo Festival following its inception. One of them, Try Sophal, documents the work of The Halo Trust, a British landmine clearing NGO based in Siem Reap. You can see her work at the Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor garden.

"Halo Trust - Mine Clearance", Cambodia - -Try Sophal.

From the press images that were released, there is though a clear tendency towards photo reportage rather than fine art photography. Images witness crises, tumult, conflict and fear from all over the world: Yemen, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Egypt, India, Niger, Cuba, Italy, France, the Congo... The subjects are wide-ranging too, from voodoo to hip-hop, psychiatric hospitals in Russia, the journey of a young male ballet dancer in South Africa, America’s modern day Ku Klux Klan, revolution in Egypt and Libya, the tsunami in Japan, and 100 more stories. These are searing records of events we know about, and many that don't make it onto our newspapers and TV screens. The food crisis in Niger has received little coverage for example, ditto the deportation of illegal immigrants from Italy.

"Revolution in Egypt" -- Corentin Fohlen/Fedephoto.

But there is also hope; the hope of every photographer that with every photo taken another light step has been taken towards putting an end to the horrors. And although the images deal in the grit and trauma of some of the worst places in the world, that is not to say that they are not also beautiful. Indeed, the very beauty of the images puts the ugliness of what they capture into shocking relief. The beauty is often also a mark of the photographer's compassion and respect for their subjects. For a striking example of that, check out Andrea Star Reese's image from the series "Chasing stigma", below.

The festival is also an opportunity to invest in Cambodia’s talent, with a series of workshops led by renowned international photographers who work with young Cambodians, teaching them the skills and tricks of the trade.

The festival is one of the highlights of the year in Siem Reap, and a great opportunity to explore parts of the town you might otherwise miss. A full calendar of events is available here. We've got some more images for you below for a taster of what’s to come...

"Tibetan Buddhism in Amdo and Kham", Tibet -- Seth Butler.

"The Possessed of Hazrat Mira Dater", India -- Tewfic El-Sawy.

"Urban Quilombo", Brazil -- Sebastian Liste/Getty Images.

"Chasing stigma", Indonesia -- Andrea Star Reese.

"Koshi Tragedy", Nepal -- Sailendra Kharel.

Tags: Angkor Photo Festival, photography, reportage

In view of recent events, the government has just taken the probably very sensible decision to cancel this year's Water Festival which was due to kick off on November 9. The Water Festival is one of the highlights of the Cambodian calendar, a spectacle that is enormously looked forward to by Cambodians and is a true experience for the visitor.

Brightly coloured racers.

Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen said the festival was cancelled because the water levels remain high in the country and many of the people who would have been crewing the boats are from flood-hit provinces where they are needed to help amid the disaster.

Celebrated on a full moon, the festival marks the reversal of the flow of the Tonle Sap, a unique occurrence the knowledge of which vested ancient Cambodian kings with great power. During the three-day festival, Phnom Penh is besieged with millions of visitors there to enjoy the boat races, parties, food, fireworks and heady revelry. It is an experience for the stout of heart as the crowds can get very oppressive.

The celebration in Siem Reap, on the other hand, is a much more low-key affair and all the better for it. Crowds line the banks of the beautiful Siem Reap river to watch dozens of boats racing past in pairs, and while the event may be more subdued than Phnom Penh, the competition seems no less intense.

On the streets behind the spectators are dozens of stalls for food and drinks, and dodgy looking fairground attractions rigged up for the kids. Like all of Cambodia's celebrations, this is a family experience and the carnival atmosphere is warm and joyful. In the evenings, after the day's racing is over, the celebrations continue with music, dancing and of course more food.

The cancellation makes a lot of sense, though it is sad that Cambodians who have lost so much in recent weeks have lost yet another reason to celebrate. Since there won't be one this year, here are a few pictures from the Water Festival in 2009 to give you a taste of the atmosphere.

Like all Khmer festivities, it's happy kid central.

The smiling never stops.

...well mostly...

... though anyone would look nervous on this.

Thousands of spectators line the river banks.

Sometimes climbing trees for a better vantage point.

Or standing on benches.

Though that's not necessarily to the advantage of everyone.

The atmosphere is very friendly.

Full of joy, and love?

Of course, there's always plenty to eat.

The racing is intense.

And a work of great pride.

Though, sadly, for every winner, there must also be a loser.

Tags: floods, Water Festival