2nd Vientianale International Film Festival
Submissions are open and here we go for the 2nd Vientianale International Film Festival. The first one was such a huge success that the organizers decided to go on with this important event for the Lao movie culture.
The Festival is not only a competition or pure entertainment but has also a focus on education about the potential richness and diversity of Lao film culture by presenting feature films, documentaries, films for children, music videos and short films.
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Bulldozers Destroy Priceless Archaeological Site in Cambodia
A 2500 year old archaeological site was unexpectedly destroyed in Cambodia last week. An archaeologist who rushed to the scene was shocked to discover heavy equipment still leveling the land, apparently to create temporary housing for a nearby company.
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In the archives of the EFEO
Archaeologists at Angkor: Photographic Archives from EFEO - by Denise Heywood (Asian Art Newspaper, September 2010)
The sight of ancient ruins emerging from the jungle has always captured the imagination. When recorded in early black and white photographs these images, swathed in mystery, are even more evocative and nowhere more so than in the jungles of Cambodia at Angkor.
Myanmar Tea Shops – Where Friends are Made
Just like British people love tea drinking, we Burmese people also have a penchant for tea. Teashops are an important and integral part of life in Myanmar.
As a foreigner who first arrives to Myanmar, you will be surprised to see so many teashops in Yangon and almost everywhere in Myanmar. The streets are filled with numerous tea-shops. And surprisingly, most of them are filled up with customers.
A Note on Lakhaon Kaol - Cambodia's Classical Male Masked Dance
Lakhaon Kaol is one of Cambodia's oldest classical dance forms. Stone inscriptions from the tenth century reveal the form was originally called Phea Ny - derived from Sanskrit and meaning to tell or recite a story. Phea Ny was performed exclusively by male dancers and musicians and shares this characteristic, among others, with the present-day Lakhaon Kaol. All performers are masked except for those taking female roles.
Cambodia Suspends Marriage Licenses with South Koreans
The Mirror, Vol. 14, No. 657
“Phnom Penh: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cambodia sent a diplomatic note to the Embassy of the Republic of Korea on 5 March 2010, informing the embassy that the Cambodian government decided to suspend the licensing of marriages between Cambodians and South Koreans. The spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Koy Kuong, spoke to Rasmei Kampuchea, saying that the Phnom Penh government made this decision after the authorities arrested a female matchmaker who took 25 Khmer women at the end of 2009 to be sold to marry South Korean men, and on 3 March 2010, court sentenced the woman to serve 10 years in prison for trafficking these women.
Great Gusto -Tonle Bassac Folk Group
Last night on an outdoor stage at the National Museum, the performance of Children of the Khmer by the youngsters from the Tonle Bassac Folk Group, supported and funded by the Cambodian Living Arts team, showed exactly why they went down a storm on their Womad and Edinburgh Festival appearances in 2008. Their combination of classical repertoire and engaging traditional folk dances, performed with great gusto and a guest spot from master musician Ieng Sithul, was lapped up by the appreciative audience in this premiere piece of a performance they will open to the public later this month.
Independence Day
The Mirror, Vol. 13, No. 638 - Monday, 9.11.2009
National holidays are not all the same. We are just behind the Water Festival which brings big crowds from the provinces to the capital city for several days. This year, 391 boats had been registered to participate in the boat racing, and 6,500 police were prepared to keep things organized and safe.
And there were special health concerns – more than in other years, because of the danger of A/H1N1 virus infections, and the Communicable Disease Control Department of Ministry of Health had prepared 500,000 leaflets with information and advice how to protect oneself from this disease - "covering up cough and wash hands among others" - as well as, as every year, from HIV/AIDS, for which the Population Service International's 1,000 volunteers were to distribute 250,000 condoms during the three days of the Water Festival.
The name game
Giving names to children has never been so fraught with difficulties, as Vietnamese parents are bombarded with advice on tones, meanings, lucky numbers, family traditions and the pressures of adapting to increased use of English.
Names in Vietnam are heavy with meaning. Parents think that a child’s name plays a key role in the destiny of their children. Often names and derivative meanings of names are passed down through generations, partially as a way of paying respect to their ancestors.
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The Head of the Royal Government Warned Donor Countries
The Mirror, Vol. 13, No. 633 - Friday, 9.10.2009
"Phnom Penh: Ahead of a meeting about the provision of development aid for Cambodia, the head of the Royal Government of Cambodia, Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen, warned donor countries not to link conditions with development aid for Cambodia.
"Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen considers the linking of conditions with aid as being under more pressure than during the presence of Vietnamese experts in Cambodia after the collapse of the Khmer Rouge regime in 1979.