‘A River Changes Course’ – the film wins prestigious award

Earlier, we reported about a documentary film produced by a Cambodian-American being screened at the Sundance film festival in the US.

Photo supplied

And now comes the good news. The film won an award – the world cinema grand jury prize for documentaries.

Following the announcement of the prize, a facebook homepage of the film director Mam Kalyanee has been bombarded with congratulations.

The film titled, “A River Changes Course” features the lives of three Cambodians in the face of the country’s rapid development.

The 83-minute film was meant to show how development in Cambodia affects people’s lives and environment.

It was among more than a hundred films from 32 countries shown at the Sundance Film Festival. And it was selected from among 4,000 different films.

‘A River Changes Course’ at Sundance Film Festival

INTRO: If you are a film lover or a film maker, you may want to stay tuned to this story.

A documentary film made by Cambodian about Cambodia has been selected to be on screen for this year’s film festival at Sundance.

It’s one of 119 films representing 32 different countries. It was selected from 4,000 different submissions.

STORY:

“A River Changes Course,” the documentary film by Cambodians...

And about Cambodia...

The documentary was produced and director by a Cambodian American film maker-cum-lawyer – Mam Kalyanee...

It features the lives of three Cambodians in the face of the country’s rapid development

The film was meant to show how development in Cambodia affects people’s lives and environment, the film director recently told VOA Khmer.

Now, the film is now screening at the annual Sundance film festival

It was among more than a hundred films from 32 countries

And it was selected from among 4,000 different films

Now, it remains to be seen if the film will ever get an award

After all, the fact that it is now being screened at the world film festival, the film will at least do some international publicity for Cambodia and the Cambodian people. 

Khmer Rouge tribunal’s operations in peril?

Students from Prey Veng province visited the Khmer Rouge
tribunal Jan 4, 2013. Photo courtesy: ECCC

The national staff at the Khmer Rouge tribunal threatened that they would stop work in February if they don’t get their salaries.

Over half of the national staff at the UN-backed tribunal said that they haven’t got their December salaries and demanded an explanation, according to a court official. 

The court’s spokesman, Neth Pheaktra, said more than 300 national staff including drivers, prosecutors and judges, at the Khmer Rouge tribunal haven’t got their salaries since December.

The spokesman said late salaries for the national staff have so far affected their livelihoods.

The national side of the hybrid court needs around 9.5 million US dollars for its 2013 operation. 

However, so far, the national side has received a pledge of only 1.8 million dollars from the Cambodian government and 700,000 US dollars from Germany.

Recently, the Japanese government announced a 2.5 million dollar contribution for the international side of the tribunal.

If things aren’t getting better anytime soon, the ongoing operations of the court might be in peril. 

That might sound somewhat pessimistic but the future of the court, at least for the national side, looks bleak.

Cambodia: policeman allegedly turns killer

Over the past weekend, a murder has shocked people in Stong district, Kampong Thom province – some 160 kilometers north of Phnom Penh.

A policeman has allegedly turned killer when he allegedly opened fire with an AK-47 rifle in his home in Stong district. 

The policeman is accused of allegedly killing his son and leaving his wife and young daughter seriously wounded.

The murder is alleged to have taken place on Sunday night. 

Local police chief was quoted as saying that the man was confessed to the shooting spree and said it was because 'he was drunk and jealous.'

The suspect was exptected to be sent to court today (Tuesday, January 22).    

More money for public sector investment

The Cambodian government is stepping up its effort to improve its public sector and to stimulate economic growth.

A bamboo bridge connecting Kampong Cham
provincial town to rural islands.

The government has approved over 4 billion US dollars of investment in public sector over the next three years.

This is according to a statement of the council of ministers.

Story:

                                   

Over 4.3 billion US dollars - that’s the amount of money that the Cambodian government is going to invest in its public sector between 2013 and 2015.

This is according to the Council of Ministers.

With this budget, the Cambodian government plans to stimulate the country’s economic growth.

According to the statement, 65 percent of the budget will be earmarked for investment in rural areas, including infrastructure, stimulating the economy, and social spending.

With the government’s efforts, it is forecasted that Cambodia’s economy is going to grow.

Last year, Cambodia’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth stood at 6.6 percent.                       

And the World Bank predicted last week that it is going to grow further.

Source: CNC's This Is Cambodia