Research of Thailand's and Cambodian Films, and historical and ethnological study in their background
Yu Kaneko visits the Thai Film Archive in the outskirts of Bangkok and the Bophana Audiovisual Resource Center in Phnom Penh to view their video materials and collect sources. He also participates in the Salaya International Documentary Film Festival and the Cambodia International Film Festival. Building on the knowledge he acquires at these locations, he travels throughout Thailand and Cambodia to investigate the relationship among films, history and folk customs. In Isan, the northeastern region of Thailand, he researches the historical background of Kampoon Boontawee’s novel A Child of the Northeast and the film version by Vichit Kounavudhi, and he also visits a film set run by Apichatpong Weerasethakul, where he researches the relationship between film and folk religion. Then, in the mountains of Nan Province in Thailand’s north, at the border between Chiang Mai / Chiang Rai and Myanmar, he researches the cultures of various minority peoples that form the context of the film Mountain People. In Phnom Penh, he studies historic sites from the Khmer Rouge era that serves as the topic of films by director Rithy Panh, and watches narrative films and documentaries about the minority peoples of the northeastern mountainous region. Finally, he visits the mountain villages of Ratanakiri Province and Mondulkiri Province to study their history and folklore.
- Main Cities of Activity
- Thailand: Bangkok, Northeastern region, Northern region, Southern region Cambodia: Phnom Penh, Northeastern region
- Host Institution(s) / Individual(s)
- Film Archive (Public Organization)
- Bophana Audiovisual Resource Center
