Bophana Newsletter
Bophana Audiovisual Resource Centre
At the beginning of the year, through the Franco-Khmer senatorial friendship group presided by Mrs. Catherine Tasca, the Bophana Audiovisual Resource Center received a grant from the French Senate to support the management of new series of cultural activities.
We would like to thank them.
We would like to thank them.
In March, we had the pleasure of welcoming the Franco-Khmer senatorial friendship group delegation to the Center. Our team gave them a personal visit of the Center with a focus on the consultation space, and showed them the different programs and future projects we are working on. The delegation was impressed with the work we have done and considers that, "the Center is an honorary example for Cambodia and of Franco-Khmer cooperation."
We also welcomed the French Senator Michel Charasse who was visiting Cambodia to oversee a financial and accounting assessment of the French Fonds de Solidarité Prioritaire (Priority Assistance Fund) "Support to the cultural sector strengthening", of which the Bophana Center is one the main achievements.
W H E R E A R E W E ?
- A new video editing training has been organized. This program follows the Centre Bophana's policy to transfer competences from French specialists to Cambodian interns. The classes, that began in early April, cover both the technical aspects of and theory behind editing, through an approach that includes art history and film analysis.
- As part of our project to create a production department that welcomes foreign filmmakers, a consultant appointed by the French Development Agency (AFD) has come to assess the feasibility of the project. This department will work towards attracting film directors and producers to Cambodia, which will in turn help to develop the audiovisual field and create opportunities for on-site training for young technicians.
- The Bophana Center is a feature on the European television station, Arte. In March, a crew from the channel spent a week at the Center to make two reports, shown in the series "Autrement vu" ("Otherwise Seen") on the program ARTE Reportage (ARTE Reports). Following the daily work of the center, these reports highlight the archival and audiovisual departments of the Center.
-The Bophana Center organizes its first public screenings. Throughout the month of May, we will be screening Prachea Komar, directed by His Majesty Norodom Sihanouk, and Le Papier ne peut pas envelopper la braise (Paper Cannot Wrap Embers), directed by Rithy Panh, in the Paris Eden Cinema room.
-The Bophana Center organizes its first public screenings. Throughout the month of May, we will be screening Prachea Komar, directed by His Majesty Norodom Sihanouk, and Le Papier ne peut pas envelopper la braise (Paper Cannot Wrap Embers), directed by Rithy Panh, in the Paris Eden Cinema room.
- From May 25 to June 15, the Bophana Center will host a new photography exhibit to accompany the program Better Factories Cambodia of the International Labour Office (ILO), which highlights the workers' world in the garment factories of Cambodia. In conjunction, the six episodes of a soap opera produced by Better Factories Cambodia with the same theme will be screened.
- The Café Bophana opens its doors. Beginning May 25, in the exhibition hall, the Café will offer drinks and pastries from Tuesday though Saturday from 11:30 am to 6:00 pm. Tasting events will soon follow.
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FOCUS
- Using sound to transmit memory
After the successful installation of a sound studio at the Bophana Center, we can begin training Cambodian technicians to use the equipment.
A first approach to the production of an audio documentary. Thanks to a workshop organized by a team from France Culture (three instructors specialized in sound recording, directing, and production), five young Cambodian interns from the Bophana Center were given a weeklong preliminary introduction in March.
They learned to use a portable recorder Nagra (an analog model, that can play archived reels, has been generously offered by France Culture), and to record and edit interviews. They emphasized in particular the directing of reports through practical application.
- Recording the memories of the painter Van Nath.
This preliminary training gave us the opportunity to begin recording the memories of Van Nath, who documented through his paintings the conditions during his detention in the Tuol Sleng prison under the Khmer Rouge regime. The Center's goal is to record an entire audio testimony of his autobiography before 2007. With the France Culture team, the interns were able to establish the frame and to record the first fifteen minutes.
- Continued training.
The recording of Van Nath's memories and the training (for two of the five interns) will continue over the next four months thanks to the assistance of a new French volunteer, a sound engineer who just arrived to the Bophana Center. This project's main activity will be to oversee the dubbing of the audiovisual documents in the database into Khmer to make them accessible to the largest number of people. The two Cambodian interns will be trained not only for this project, but also to process audio archives.
posted by Jinja @ 7:48 PM
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