"His Majesty the King Father asked me to thank you on his behalf. He read with great interest your report about your activities in reviving the cinema industry in Cambodia"
-- From the Cabinet of H.M. Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia
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Established in 2007/2550, CAMBOFEST is the first internationally recognized movie festival event to take place in Cambodia since the end of the Khmer Rouge regime. This pioneering event has inspired many other Cambodia-based festivals that have since followed!
To date, CamboFest has screened hundreds of movies from around the world in its main event showcases and in shorter 'Lite' editions of the festival.
Unusual for the region, CamboFest is grass-roots, private sector, indie, and is made possible primarily with the support of various worldwide contributors. As an independent event, the festival is able to present an eclectic, diverse and pluralistic range of international content without needing to adhere to a single donor mandate or agenda.
Screening venues often include a range of unique and distinctly Cambodian locales, many of which are not typical of a developed world festival experience.
For the event's 3rd edition, CamboFest staffers re-discovered and revived the lost, provincial vintage 1950's movie house, 'The Royal' which had fallen into disuse over the years following the Cambodian civil war and the advent of home video in the mid to late 1980's.
With a fraction of the budget of a typical UNESCO project, CamboFest succeeded in securing permissions from the authorities while reviving the venue with a custom screen, all-digital throughput and a compelling local & international hybrid program.
Now back on the local map, the Royal movie hall and is now once again being used for cultural events on a consistent basis in Kampot province...thanks to the pioneering efforts of CamboFest and all participating filmmakers.
Previous editions of CamboFest have utilized other unique and non-traditional venues including:: river boats, rice fields, orphanages, rooftops & art galleries, old French colonial buildings, and other uniquely Cambodian environments and locations.
** CamboFest welcomes volunteers of all kinds - Contact info@cambofest.com with inquiries **
Thanks for considering CamboFest! ~ Get more information at: http://www.cambofest.com
Winners in each category are awarded the world-famous Grabay Meas ('Golden Waterbuffalo') trophy.