Cambodia Videos - The Documentary Network

Sweatshop Chic: The real price of low cost fashion

Documentary.net staff — Mon, 06 Jan 2014 16:12:07 +0000

Since the Bangladesh garment factory collapse, the battle between workers and management has been hotting up in Cambodia. Despite poor conditions and wages, employers in this cut-throat industry are standing firm. Cambodia has been held up to the world as a model of how the garment industry should be, but workers like Bopha live on a meagre salary and don't have enough to eat. "My health is deteriorating. I want to quit, but there are no jobs." Protests and strikes amongst the predominantly female employees of this booming industry are being suppressed, sometimes with lethal force and live ammunition. "We won't use violence, we'll protest peacefully", insists Ath Thorn, a union leader. Ken Loo, the Secretary General of the Garment Manufacturers Association remains defiant. "We don't come to Cambodia to help you. We come to Cambodia to make a profit." Yet despite the chaos, there are also increasingly powerful forces backing better working conditions, including some big-name brands. But will it make a difference?

Fashion Victims?

Documentary.net staff — Wed, 04 Dec 2013 18:04:07 +0000

What are conditions really like for garment workers? An insight look at the industry employing 400,000 in Cambodia. When a Bangladeshi garment factory collapsed in April killing over a thousand people, it focused attention on the plight of workers feeding the world’s demand for low-cost fashion. 400,000 people, mostly women, work in that industry in Cambodia, but what are conditions really like for them? The country has been held up as a model of how the industry should be, but David Brill finds it’s not so clear cut. From protests and battles with the unions to workers living in poverty, David meets the people paying the price for our low-cost fashion. But there are also increasingly powerful forces backing better working conditions, including some of the big-name brands. See this insight into the less glamorous side of the fashion industry.

Born Sweet – Winner of 15 Awards

Documentary.net staff — Mon, 16 Sep 2013 15:30:28 +0000

15 year old Vinh lives in a remote Cambodian village and has accepted his destiny – to be sick for the rest of his life with incurable arsenic poisoning. He dreams of becoming a karaoke star, winning the affections of adoring fans. But his body is scarred by illness and there is a good chance the arsenic will soon take his life, like the girl who once lived across the road. A chance to star in a karaoke video about the dangers of arsenic allows Vinh to wonder if he truly knows his destiny. SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL 2010 Honorable Mention in Short Filmmaking ASPEN SHORTSFEST 2010 Best Documentary ASHLAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2010 Best Short Documentary ATLANTA FILM FESTIVAL 2010 Best Short Documentary BARCELONA ENVIRONMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL Jury Mention BIG SUR INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL Audience Award FINCA ARGENTINA ENVIRONMENTAL AWARD 2010 First Prize HAMPTONS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2010 Audience Award, Best Short Documentary INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL OF BOSTON 2010 Grand Jury Prize INDIANAPOLIS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2010 Eric Parker Social Justice Award LOUISVILLE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2010 Best Short Documentary PALM SPRINGS SHORTFEST 2010 Audience Award, Best Documentary Short RECONTRES INTERNATIONAL EAU ET CINEMA Bronze Drop SAGUENAY INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL Public’s Prize VERVIERS, AU FILM DE L'EAU, BELGIUM First Prize

It’s a man’s world

Documentary.net staff — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 15:38:48 +0000

Gang rape hit the headlines last year after the brutal attack of a woman on a bus in India’s capital, Delhi. But new research suggests that gang rape is a wider problem across Asia - with some of the highest recorded levels of violence against women in the world to be found within the Asia-Pacific region. Despite years of attention and millions spent on preventing it, there has been little or no measured decrease in its occurrence. And simply responding to the outcomes of violence has not been enough to end it. For the first time, researchers have compiled cross-country data from men - those who admit to using violence against women, and those who do not. It is hoped that understanding men’s own experiences will help to target the causes of violence against women and prevent it from happening at all. Four UN agencies interviewed 10,000 men across seven countries in the Asia-Pacific, with startling results. One in four said they had raped a woman or girl, while one in 25 admitted to taking part in gang rape. Men say they start raping early, often in their teenage years and are frequently motivated by sexual entitlement. While the rates of violence are shocking, the variations between countries is giving hope to those working on programmes to prevent violence and rape, because it demonstrates that early intervention can make a difference. The research confirmed that there is no single cause of violence, but a complex interplay of factors related to individual experiences, community norms, and societal elements. 101 East travels to Cambodia, a country representing some of the highest levels of rape in the region, to speak with men themselves about why they commit these crimes and to find out if the perpetrators can trigger new ideas for prevention.

Cambodia’s Orphan Business

Documentary.net staff — Thu, 24 May 2012 16:26:51 +0000

Increasing numbers of tourists including well-intentioned volunteers keen to help war-torn Cambodia are volunteering in the country's orphanages. Volumes of research around the world have shown that orphanage care is associated with long-term psychological concerns. The film investigates the concept of "voluntourism" which is inadvertently doing more harm than good to Cambodian children, as well as the disturbing trend of exploitation by some companies that organise volunteers or run orphanages.