Student films produced during the summer HW Go! Cambodia Digital Storytelling Adventure were screened yesterday in Ahmanson Lecture Hall.
Filmmakers visited the cities of Battamberg, Phnom Penh and Siem Riep and primarily studied the 1975 genocide, but also learned about other aspects of the Cambodian culture by interacting with the native people and visiting historic temples and landmarks.
Each of the 16 students created a film reflecting the Cambodian history and culture. Students captured the footage for the films during the summer trip and finished editing them on Jan. 29.
“It is exciting to see the students transform the experience they saw and learned into their own projects in which they connect issues to their own lives,” Visual Arts Department Head Cheri Gaulke said.
One of the films is about human trafficking, the second largest industry in Cambodia. It was produced by Maya Hinkin ’18, Tarin North ’18, Nicole Kim ’18 and William Park ’17.
In the film, “Daughters of Cambodia,” the filmmakers compare their lives as American teenagers to the lives of Cambodian girls.
“A large part of my experience in Cambodia was when I got to see the red light district,” Park said. “It gave me a longing to change the world outside of just my society. In ‘Daughters of Cambodia,’ people will actually see that these women are real characters, and it will strike an empathy in them that does not exist without seeing the film.”