‘ 2030’ Anthology to Focus On Plight Of Mekong River

- dia) Soul River is a cautionary tale framed as a lighthearted road (or, rath- er, river) movie. Set in 2030 in a remote northeast region of Cambodia, it urges contemporary audiences to reconsider their attitudes toward environmental degradation and the impact of climate change on the Mekong basin.

Courtesy of Luang Prabang Film Festival - Filmmakers (from left) Sai Naw Kham, Kulikar Sotho and Anysay Keola. A new Luang Prabang Film Festival sioning the condition of the river — was raised. There, he intervenes in a which carves its course through , dispute between his siblings over the , , , Cambodia ethics of exploiting their elderly moth- and Vietnam — as well as the commu- er’s blood. The blood has become a nities that depend on it. valuable commodity to a Western cor- Five Southeast Asian directors will poration that has been developing a present their visions — and fears — for The river has come under increasing cure for a deadly plague outbreak. the future of the Mekong river, one of threat from pollution and from a series Asia’s most vital waterways, through of massive dams, according to the Me- - the anthology , which is kong River Commission (MRC). set to tour the world’s festival circuit next year. “We need to address these issues now to claim their lost spirits’ attachment in order to minimize further environ- to the Mekong River, while channeling “I heard about global warming and mental harm and protect remaining community resilience toward its pro- climate change and stuff like that, but wetlands and riverine habitats before tection. that was just hearing. Being on the they are gone, while leveraging the shoot myself, on the river, only then The Line did I realize that it’s actually coming optimal and sustainable development open a new exhibition focusing on ani- Kulikar Sotho, part of the project and of the Mekong basin,” said Dr. An Pich mism and river ecology, the boundaries previously a Special Jury Award winner Hatda, CEO of the MRC secretariat, between the artwork and the world it at Venice for Ruin (2013). at last month’s launch of his organiza- represents begin to merge into a site tion’s “State of the Basin” report. where different forms of knowledge Sotho has been joined on the project converge. by Anysay Keola (Laos), Sai Naw Kham The anthology has been supported by (Myanmar), Anocha Suwichakornpong The Asia Foundation, Oxfam, Heinrich (Thailand) and Pham Ngoc Lân (Viet- Böll Foundation and the MRC. nam). a middle-aged woman traveling up- “LPFF plans to submit these as a col- Initiated by Laos’ Luang Prabang Film lective program to festivals and con- in 30 years, told alongside a story of a Festival (LPFF), the “cross-border” col- ferences across the world, in order to young couple traveling downstream to raise awareness among international a strange temple in search of a cure for with looking to the year 2030 and envi- audiences for the issues addressed in chronic insomnia.