Blue lady blog » Climate Change

High School’s Love Story: Cambodia’s Gay Film

Kounila Keo — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 04:19:58 +0000

Cambodia's first-ever movie about gay love, but second movie about homosexual love

I was sort of amazed when I saw this new graphically designed poster of this first-ever movie about gay love “High School’s Love Story”. Cambodia nowadays seems to be into homosexual love, doesn’t it? Another movie about homosexual lovers hit Cambodia’s film market not long ago in April 2009, drawing thousands of audience. It was entitled “Who am I?” Mrs. Poan Phuong Bopha, the film’s writer, said that her film was successful beyond what she expected. And I was one of the audience. I like the theme and how she structured the story. However, the producing process and stars ‘ performance, in my opinion, have not improved much. But well, it was really nice to look into a new angle of society, rather than disclose it.

Even in Clogosphere (Cambodian blogosphere), I notice there’s a growing trend of Khmer blogs about gay novels. I see Cambodian kids and youngsters are trying to express themselves through stories they write for others to see and also explain people difficulties of gays together with gays’ positions in society. Gay novels they write are often sad because the characters, both men, always end up apart. Why? I used to read one American gay novel, which I found quite tasteful . Society apparently condemns gays and lesbians, but they are a minority of people needed to be heard.

For a quick look, go to read some stories by this kid who blogs in Khmer. And, this is a Khmer Gay Novels blog in English.

Certainly, I am going forward to watching “High School’s Love Story”. I don’t really think this is a new issue. Gays and lesbians have always been in Cambodia. I understand why they have been hiding themselves from society. A lot of discrimination is going on everywhere against homosexuals or same-sex lovers. Gays and lesbians should really have their own rights to express themselves in whatever way. Just because they are, like everybody else, human beings.

Climate change project in Cambodia, with kids

Kounila Keo — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 14:53:00 +0000

While Cambodia is now paying attention to the conflicts she is having with Thailand, she probably forgets about some global duty she has to fufill as well. Actually, it is very easy to ignore something very significant like this because it doesn’t seem to show its bad impacts in this moment but the future instead.

I luckily had to spend 6 days working as an interpreter for a American woman from Seatle who came all the day down here to teach a group of children aged from 14 to 20 how to use a video to make changes in whatever way in their communities. It was exactly exciting and new for them as well as for me. I have never heard such a thing. But I don’t think it will be able to be explained or it is just going to fill this whole post with this important information and of course details! She and I are temporarily working for Plan International Cambodia that has patnered with a few other organizations who sent their researchers to come and help us in the workshops those kids joined.

I am really amazed by what they are trying to do. It’s Plan Interntaional and several organizations that are working to promote children’s rights and at the same time raising awareness of climate change in Cambodia. Nearly 30 kids from two communes were invited and for these 6 days, they were taught technical staff like using video-cameras, which was all too exciting for them. Also, they learnt new things like natural disasters such as flood and drought. Besides these, they even learnt to provide possible solutions to problems happening in their villages. They did a very good job in writing the storyboard and directing their stories.

Can you imagine that youngs kids from the communes in Cambodia can make a film, write a storyboard and direct everything in the movie? Can you imagine that kids in the provinces can voice their concern if they face any confrontation from the world they are living? It’s overwhelming when people are silent about what they want. But this time, these videos they will make next week will make a big difference in their communities and their life. They raise an issue in their village, show impacts and provide possible solutions. Those vidoes will be watched by the communities, local and national government. And we will see, if approved by the government, their proposals for a bridge during flooding and for the communities to spread children’s rights will just come true overnight!!!

Ice/Glacier To Disappear from North Pole

Kounila Keo — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 06:29:00 +0000

Isn’t it sad when you know what you have now is going to change for the worse, not for the better? A few technologically rich countries are trying to discover life-beings in another planet while our Earth has been taken for granted for years and is going to be left to its own devices. It seems unthinkable, but the North Pole is going to be ice-free. Let’s wait and see what effects it will have on the human-beings if they do not start to do something. Some people may deem this post stupid and immature, but believe me, seeing is believing. You will see! Perhaps, you’ve seen or experienced it already! Needless to say, i’ll be a huge destruction.

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