Cambodia

Lucky baby

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Ozug) — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 14:19:00 +0000

The very first time I met Lucky, he told me how stressed he was feeling because he was about to have a baby 'any day now.' Well, after some agonizing weeks past the due date for Lucky and Koet, their healthy baby boy, Lucky Jr, was born on Saturday night...24 hours after I left town -- but Scott was there with camera in tow the next morning to get these photos, and some sounds of the new dad and baby.

So So

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Elliott) — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 13:15:00 +0000

I’m presently in transit in Taipei, looking at $700 bags from Prada and Dunhill. I saw the same Prada bag for $2 not 3 hours ago. Reverse culture shock begins...Digression: As a rather counterintuitive present to celebrate my quitting smoking, my father gave me a gold Dunhill lighter he inherited from his father. It’s really old and in great condition. I just saw a Dunhill lighter of the same ilk for $500. The nice salesman laughed when I asked how much he thinks mine is worth, “I think maybe a lot of money.” Good move quitting smoking, might have to cash it in to help pay for the trip.

Anyway, the internet here is so fast it’s not funny. I’ve done 5 blog postings in 10 minutes. So in honor of our hotelier Kinet at the Nokor Lucky and its mind numbingly slow internet, I post this sign for the So So Net company of Phnom Penh.

They need proofreaders there.

Goodbye Sir!

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Elliott) — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 13:13:00 +0000

Hold Tight

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Elliott) — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 13:08:00 +0000

Not sure if it's clear cause I shrunk the images, but this is a huge mirror and there are two guys holding it from behind.

More precarious moto moments here.

Malaysian Noodles

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Elliott) — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 12:35:00 +0000

This is mostly for Matt. The woman was very sad to see us go and wished us best luck and come back soon.

Volleyball

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Elliott) — Sun, 19 Nov 2006 23:52:00 +0000

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Been very busy in the last few days and haven't had time to make any postings. Matt left on Friday and I've been finishing up broll shooting for the doc and also made a short video about the Cambodian National Volleyball League (Disabled). In this clip you see Phnom Penh’s Senway Dragons take on Siem Reap in the semifinals of the national championships. I ended up meeting and following this ex-army guy, Houy, who lost his leg to a landmine while fighting Khmer Rouge insurgents.

I went to his house yesterday and interviewed him and his wife. His story is incredibly inspiring: He was basically a suicidal wreck after the landmine but is now one of the best disabled volleyball players in the world.

The story of the league over the next year is gold and it might just be my next documentary. Think Murder Ball meets Born Into Brothels (maybe not the best "meets" but I'm riffing here). And of course, one always needs assistance...

I’m off today at 4 PM. I’m sad to be leaving this amazing, crazy city, but happy to be heading home.

What's the Best Ministry of All?

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Ozug) — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 10:30:00 +0000

Why it's the Ministry of Cult and Religion of course!

Bun Sotinea

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Elliott) — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 10:23:00 +0000

Sorry about the slowdown in postings, but we've been pretty busy during our final few days. Here's a photo of Bun Sotinea and her mother. They've emerged as the best "characters" in our video and as such, have followed them over a couple of days. Sotinea is an amazing girl--a few years ago her father died of AIDS and her mother is HIV positive, yet she is incredibly upbeat. She works with Monks from a local Wat and does peer education to her neighbors about the dangers of HIV-AIDS. We shot her doing the peer-ed last week and it was very moving to see a crowd of little kids hanging on her every word.

Sotinea also helps her mother make clothing for a local organization that sells Cambodian-made crafts to tourists. We shot a long sequence of the two working together on an ancient Singer sewing machine given to them by the organization.

More pics here

The lap of neo-colonialist luxury

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Ozug) — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 12:32:00 +0000

The temples of Angor are great, but they do pale a little in comparison to the amenities of the FCC Angor Wat. There's Scott working pool side...

Hello!

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Elliott) — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 15:55:00 +0000

What else could one ever want?

More recent pics.

Oh, and we did do some work while we were up in Siem Reap. We interviewed a monk at Wat Damnak and visited their "orphan village" outside of town. It wasn't the best shooting we've done, but the story is moving along.

Angkor

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Ozug) — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 14:21:00 +0000

Motoduck

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Elliott) — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 05:25:00 +0000

Yes, they were still alive and quacking away while being strapped to the bike.

Driving

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Elliott) — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 14:19:00 +0000

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Hunting Dumplings

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Elliott) — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 13:04:00 +0000

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We know what you're saying -- not another food post! But I promise that these dumplings are so good that they warrant their own still montage. We both think that they're the best dumpling-sauce combination we've ever had.

I was thinking I might drop a few pounds in Cambodia. (A wish rekindled upon seeing my fat belly in these pics.) Not gonna happen.

Music is "Rich Kidz Vs. Poor Kidz" by Rin and Rith, a Cambodian hip-hop duo.

Steung Meanchy

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Elliott) — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 11:35:00 +0000

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We drove out to the Wat at Steung Meanchy with Yassak of Save the Children Australia; we had an appointment with the Venerable Luy Bora, one of the monks in SCA's network of pagodas supporting orphans and children most vulnerable to HIV and AIDS.

Steung Meanchy has an interesting history. The Khmer Rouge leveled the Wat, and only 2 monks survived the regime. But rebuilding began in 1979 and continues to this day. Scattered among the temple and outbuildings, is a series of gigantic green and yellow phoenixes.

While some monks might be content with rebuilding the physical temple, Bora has taken up the mantle of social engagement. He weekly visits over a hundred HIV-affected families within what you might call his "parish" in the West. Part of this geographical area that comprises his religious backyard includes the garbage dump for Phnom Penh. Land is cheap to rent around the dump, and you can eek out a living picking plastic out from the heap and selling it to a broker. That's exactly how one HIV-positive woman we met gets by. After her husband died, she began going out every day making an average of 3000 riel, or about 75 cents, collecting plastic. One of her two daughters is also HIV positive, but is currently getting ARVs. Bora tries to ensure that the children attend school and that they're receiving medical attention when needed.

Luy Bora says he first began noticing a problem in 1997 -- noticing families effected by HIV -- while on his daily trek out into the community to ask for alms or rice. Today he helps provide over 100 families affected by HIV/AIDS with sacks of rice of their own.

Steak and Eggs

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Elliott) — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 15:41:00 +0000

Ok, it’s not your local diner, but we discovered this place this morning and it was really tasty. Looking at the photo here it might not seem so appetizing, but I promise it’s a fantastic breakfast treat. I’ve dubbed it the Cambodian Sizzler, as the food arrives on a cast iron mini-skillet still cooking, allowing you to finish your eggs to your liking. Right up my alley.

More pics of food here.

The Throngs

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Ozug) — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 01:21:00 +0000

Somewhere between 1-2 million people are expected to flood Phnom Penh this weekend for the Water and Moon Festival. Where we stay, up by Central Market, the change is barely noticable, but down by the river it is absolute insanity. The crowds go on like this for the length of the river, and blocks in towards the city. It's enough to cause chronic low-grade claustraphobia. To get anywhere, families and friends grab hold of each other's shoulders and form a part snake part battering ram. As anxiety inducing as the weekend is, it's all made worthwhile as the sun sets, huge illuminated barges are pushed upstream, and fireworks exploded in front of the moon.

pratip

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Ozug) — Sun, 05 Nov 2006 06:06:00 +0000

Nine illuminated floats, or pratip, made a slow parade up-river every night at dusk. They represented entities from the Royal Palace, to the Minstry of Justice to, interestingly, ANZ bank.

Korsang Karaoke

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Elliott) — Sat, 04 Nov 2006 10:52:00 +0000

Hey this is Matt. I haven't introduced Korsang yet. They're a group of 20-30 year-old Cambodian-American men who committed a crime in the states and were subsequently deported to a country almost none of them remember. So what did they do? They started a harm-reduction program (called Korsang) for street children – many of whom shoot heroin. (Injection drug use is a looming problem here that almost nobody is really talking about.) It’s a combination of classroom training, drop in center, and work on the streets (cleaning up dirty needles and distributing clean ones in the slums around town).

I’m spending a lot of time with these guys both in and out of the work place, and they’re pretty remarkable. Their connection with these street kids in parts of town most NGOs wouldn’t touch is incredible; and their commitment to and passion for the work is stunning, especially in light of the personal challenges of starting life anew half-way around the world. Theywork hard and play hard too. I joined them recently on a night out for Karaoke. Here's Bony on the mic.

HIV Boat

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Elliott) — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 16:45:00 +0000

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Across the river from Phnom Penh – in the temporary village housing many of the 30,000 racers expected in town this weekend – are docked three long boats under the direction of Sou Sotheavy, who works for the Womens Network for Unity. He’s brought 210 racers from Ken Savy district in Kandon Provence – about 30 km from Phnom Penh. They arrived via the river today for some final practice prior to the big races. These teams are unique in that 50 of the rowers are HIV positive – a number he says is meant to highlight the fact that in their villages as manyh as 5-6% of people are infected. They’re efforts are part of an anti-discrimination campaign meant to show others that people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA) can work together with those un-infectd – and they can succeed. “They’re strong,” he says, smiling and making a muscle. For him, this is just the start of a lesson they can bring back to their villages, and in turn teach to their family and peers. It’s an experience that cuts to the heart of his own story – Sou Sotheavy, himself a PLHA, said “I didn’t ask for this. None of the Cambodians asked for this. But we must fight to stop the spread of the disease and stop the discrimination.” As important as the anti-discrimination message is, these racers also really want to win. Although this is only their second year competing, Sou Sotheavy predicts a big finish: “100%” He said, “We’re going to win, 100%.”

Concert

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Elliott) — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 15:24:00 +0000

At the Olympic Stadium. We went to see the Tiny Toones perform, but couldn't get very close.

Launching a Boat

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Elliott) — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 02:28:00 +0000

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It's 5:30 AM here and I'm awake from jet lag. It's beginning to get light out and I can already hear the honking and bustle of the city. Yesterday, Matt and I stumbled upon a launching of one of the hundreds of boats that will soon compete in the annual Cambodian Water Festival. There was a band playing out of the back of a pickup truck to mark the occasion. Last night I cut a scene together. It's rough.

The Water Festival marks the end of the dry season and draws 1.5 million Cambodians to Phnom Penh to watch hundreds of boats race along the Tonle Sap river. (Phnom Penh is geographically located at the confluence of the mile-wide Mekong and Tonle Sap, the major source of freshwater fish for the region. The festival marks when the Tonle Sap literally reverses directions, bringing an abundance of fish to the area). We heard yesterday that there are a thousand boats racing this year, a mind-boggling number. We shot some of them practicing yesterday and it's pretty amazing--roughly fifty guys paddling in unison, all screaming and chanting as they zip down river. Maybe I'll put some video of it up.

Today, we're trying to meet up with one of the boats manned entirely by people with HIV. They use the festival to raise HIV-AIDS awareness and show the average Cambodian that people living with HIV can do anything uninfected people can do (the whole racing thing seems pretty macho). Backwards, yes, but this is a country where the disease is only beginning to be dealt with, so to show these guys participating is extremely important. I believe that the HIV positive racers also do condom distribution and outreach when they're not racing.

The Water Festival is particularly problematic in terms of the spread of the disease because many of the 2 million people from the provinces will visit brothels, get infected and then take the disease back to their homes. So education and outreach are key here and that's what we're looking at in this part of the doc.

Kong Nai, chapei master

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Elliott) — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 14:22:00 +0000

...working backwards here. On Saturday the 28th I interviewed chapei Master Kong Nai. Chapei is like the Cambodian version of the Delta blues. The instrument is a two stringed long neck guitar -- historically and 'properly' made of three distinct types of wood (one for the face, neck, and back). Thing is, these woods are so rare and/or expensive that almost nobody, not eaven Nai, has a chapei with all three woods. They improvise.

I learned all this talking with Cambodian Living Arts (or 'cla' as everyone calls it) who are working to record Nai's music, preserve the songs, and encourage Cambodian youth to at least give it a listen, along -side their MTV. Preservation is key, since chapei music is based on rhyming, improvised lyrics -- with two players often sitting across a stage composing verses for and about one another like battling MCs. Nai, who is one of 2-3 Chapei players to survive the Khmer Rouge is among the best at this spontaneous composition. I spoke with Kong Nai in front of his home in the Bassac Slums, just south of the Royal Palace. Called Bou Ding slums by local – a reference to the one permanent structure, or building, looming over the one story slum dwellings, the slum was originally filled with artists who liked the proximity to the nearby theater, but a fire in 1994 destroyed much of that building. Now Bou Ding is famous for prostitutes, not artists. But the land is now in a hot area for developmet, and as tenants move or are engouraged out, their simple wood homes with corrugated metal roofs are demolished and replaced with coils of barbed wire – to discourage anyone else from taking up the land.

In our interview, Nai was generous and open, talking about everything from how he met his wife, to the bout with chicken pox that left him blind at the age of 4, his life under the Khmer Rouge, an of course, his love of chapei. When he interrupted the conversation with song, people would stop their bikes, or come out of their homes to listen. Even without amplification Nai's voice and the music of the chapei carrys through these dusty alleyways. When asked if he had a favorite song, or one he is proudest of, he played a song about liberation from the Khmer Rouge.

Lunch

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Elliott) — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 16:35:00 +0000

IMG_3258.JPG
Originally uploaded by tscottel.

I'm a believer that you've got to try everything once. Ok, I didn't try the snake, but the frog rocked. More pics.

The View From 24C

noreply@blogger.com (Scott Elliott) — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 10:39:00 +0000

I’m beginning this first blog entry somewhere over the South China Sea on the way from Taipei to Phnom Penh. This trip marks the first time I’m making a film out of the US with the easy ability to upload journal entries, pictures and even post short video clips to the web. So here goes.

We are here to make a documentary – two of them in fact, Matt’s working on a radio story and we’re collaborating on a video—so time will tell if we are able to give this blog the time it deserves. If we do get make some entries, by all means post comments and tell us what you think.

I set off from Newark airport almost two days ago—the mind goes crazy on these flights because you basically loose an entire day. I guess for Halloween I went as a grungy flyer seriously drugged out on high power anti-anxiety drugs. I arrive in Phnom Penh shortly and as I look out the window I can see the brown/green coast of Vietnam and what I think are the many winding rivers that make up the Mekong delta.

I’m getting incredibly excited about this documentary project, though I’m also gripped with a nervous and anxious energy. Part of it could be that I’m about to enter an economically poor country with a horribly sad past, but another part is that this is my first return to South East Asia in over ten years. As a naïve college senior, I made my first documentary film in Vietnam, called Reflections from Sa Pa, Vietnam. It was an ambitious project about the impact of global tourism on the Hmong ethnic group in Vietnam. I traveled by myself to a remote region of a country where I barely knew the language and tried to create something that I knew only through watching movies and taking classes.

Let’s just say that Sans Soleil it’s not. It certainly had some moments, but I've stuck it in the vault and it ain't never coming out. But making the film did a wonderful thing for me: It gave me a sense of confidence that I never knew I had. It still brings a smile to my face that I said, "fuck it, I’m going to apply for a grant, buy a camera, get a plane ticket, go to a communist country and spend two months making a doc." Perhaps more importantly, the experience made me fall in love with the art and craft of documentary filmmaking: The ethics of representation, the idea of truth and authorship, gaining access, visual composition, interview technique, editing. I was thrown into wrestling with these heady ideas in the only way I believe one can: By picking up a camera and turning it on.

I’ve always wanted to come back here, but have been instead in New York building a career and honing my skills as a filmmaker.

And so here I am, back in South East Asia about to give it another go. I’m here because my future brother in law, Matt Ozug, got a fellowship with the International Reporting Project to make a radio documentary about the AIDS crisis in Cambodia. He was initially interested in looking at a charismatic Monk whose Monastery provides care for AIDS orphans. Matt asked me if I wanted to come along and make a video companion piece that intersects—though not replicates—his radio piece. I jumped.

Matt has been here for two weeks working on his radio documentary and has decided to focus on a group called Korsang, made up of a group of Cambodians from the U.S. who have been forcefully repatriated by the U.S. government after committing crimes in the U.S. Amazingly, after landing in Cambodia, a lot of these guys formed a group that does work with AIDS orphans and provides needle exchange and education for intravenous drug users.

The focus of the video documentary is still up in the air, as there are a number of Monasteries, NGOs, and government agencies all involved in the AIDS crises. One of the groups I’m interested in is the Tiny Toones break-dancers, who are loosely affiliated with Korsang. But I suppose that part of the fun with a documentary is that you never know what you’re going to get and I look forward to the first few days when we just start shooting and see where it takes us, always looking for those pieces that connect and bring the story together. We have no distribution deal set up for the film, but we’re hoping to sell it to Frontline World; barring that, we’ll do film festivals and see where it takes us.

OK, we’re beginning our decent into Phnom Penh. Stay tuned for more.