Filmmaker Seeks Yearlong Screening for ‘A River Changes Course’

  • VOA Khmer
    Men Kimseng

Director, Kalyanee Mam's film "A River Changes Course" about her native country, Cambodia, wins the 2013 Sundance Film Festival's Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema Documentary at the Awards Ceremony on Saturday, January 26th in Park City, Utah.

WASHINGTON DC - Mam Kalyanee, whose film examines the effects of modernized development on Cambodian families, has launched an online campaign so that she can screen the film for a full year in Cambodia.

“A River Changes Course” follows the lives of three different families adversely affected by development in three very different ways.

Mam Kalyanee said she hopes the film will raise more awareness about development issues in Cambodia, including the conditions faced by women in factories, the impact of deforestation and the scarcity of fish resources.

“This film shows that environmental issues and human rights are related,” Mam Kalyanee told VOA Khmer. “When we destroy our environment it is like neglecting human rights protection. It’s very important that we protect the environment and human rights.”

“A River Changes Course” has received critical acclaim and awards in the US, Europe and Asia. It is being screened now at New York’s Museum of Modern Art.

The fundraising campaign is seeking to raise $40,000 through rally.org for screenings that will begin next month, ahead of the July 28 elections.

It will be shown in public screenings across the country and in universities, Mam Kalyanee said.

“Once people see the film and know that the issues exist everywhere, they’ll know they are not alone, and then have an idea on what to do to help Cambodia,” she said.