In 1995, in a Cambodia still healing from decades of war and repression, renowned Cambodian filmmaker Rithy Panh partnered with the French documentary training institution Ateliers Varan to launch the first hands-on documentary filmmaking workshop in Phnom Penh. This pioneering initiative—created in collaboration with the Cinema Department of the Ministry of Culture—empowered Cambodian trainees to tell their stories through film and laid the foundation for an independent filmmaking community, later formalized as the Cambodia Audiovisual Production Centre. The films presented today are the original works made by workshop participants, offering a rare and powerful window into Cambodian society, memory, and everyday life at a pivotal moment in the nation’s cultural renewal.

Saturday, February 21, 2026, at 5:00 pm, Bophana Center.