At a Glance
A State of Mind, an audio-visual projection by Nicholas Bonner, 9 p.m. at the FCC Angkor. Live music performance by Paul Ubana Jones to follow.
On the web
More information is available at the Festival's web site and from the Festival's flick set.
Siem Reap this month plays host to the Angkor Photography Festival, which begins November 25 and runs through December 1, 2006.
The Festival brings together some of the region's biggest name photographers and local upcoming talents for a series of photography workshops and exhibitions. The best photographs then go on display at galleries, bars and restaurants throughout the town.
This year's roster includes Philip Jones Griffiths, Gary Knight, John Vink, Roland Neveu and a host of other world-class photographers.
Based on the professional model of the VII workshops, the Angkor Festival sponsors free workshops for young (under 30), Asian photographers. Through this program, the Festival aims to develop the skills of emerging photographers so they can better document their own societies and create a photographic network across Asia.
Reaching Out
The Festival is also involved in several outreach programs, all based around photography.
The Angkor Photography Festival has developed a long-term educational project for a group of thirty-five street children whose parents have AIDS or are landmine victims.
During the inaugural festival in October 2005, the children were introduced to photography by Magnum photographer Antoine d'Agata. The children built a photographic mosaic that gives insight into their difficult world.
As part of the Angkor Photography Festival this year, a team of international artists and therapists will work with a local charity for disabled people, mostly landmine victims, called Angkor Association for the Disabled.
Sangeeta Isvaran, Isabelle Rodker, Paula Holme and a photographer will work together with AAD to establish a theatre company consisting of people with disabilities. The company will be prepared through a series of art-therapy and performance-skills workshops, and its show will explore human rights issues for people with disabilities in Cambodia.
The performance will be one of the Festival's highlights, and become a regular performance in local hotels, providing the company members with a sustainable income.
The FCC supports the Angkor Photography Festival in many ways. The Festival will use the FCC conference room for several of its workshops. The FCC also donates hotel rooms and other facilities to the Festival, as well as catering services and, this year, a live concert by Paul Ubana Jones.
More information about the Festival is available at their web site, http://www.9kub.com/afptest/, and from the Festival's flick set.