Join Studio Revolt, Cities of Peace: Chicago and Phnom Penh, Jane Addams Hull-House Museum, Young Chicago Authors, Kuumba Lynx, Chicago Grassroots Curriculum Taskforce, UIC Youth Development, and the Institute of Museums and Library Services for the official Chicago launch of Cambodian Son!
Trailer for “Cambodian Son” here: http://www.CambodianSon.com
“All I hope now is that you watch this film and walk away feeling something you never felt before about some people you never thought you ...
Join Studio Revolt, Cities of Peace: Chicago and Phnom Penh, Jane Addams Hull-House Museum, Young Chicago Authors, Kuumba Lynx, Chicago Grassroots Curriculum Taskforce, UIC Youth Development, and the Institute of Museums and Library Services for the official Chicago launch of Cambodian Son!
Trailer for “Cambodian Son” here: http://www.CambodianSon.com
“All I hope now is that you watch this film and walk away feeling something you never felt before about some people you never thought you would come to know. It is only through your tears and inspiration that we can begin to make an impact in this world that is cruel but always generous to those who persevere.” — Masahiro Sugano, filmmaker
Cambodian Son documents the life of deported poet, Kosal Khiev after receiving the most important performance invitation of his career—to represent the Kingdom of Cambodia at the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad. Kosal would travel to London having only taken two flights prior; first, as a 1-year-old refugee child whose family fled Cambodia and, then as a 32-year-old criminal “alien” forcibly exiled to Cambodia in 2011. The film follows a volatile yet charming and talented young man who struggles to find his footing amongst a new freedom that was granted only through his deportation. Kosal’s London representation is a triumphant moment for many people in his life, both in America and Cambodia. The film traces the impact and significance of this moment for Kosal, his friends, family, mentors and a growing international fan base. Armed only with memorized verses, he must face the challenges of being a deportee while navigating his new fame as Phnom Penh’s premiere poet. After the performances end and the London stage becomes a faint
memory, Kosal is once again left alone to answer the central question in his life: “How do you survive when you belong nowhere?”
Issues Addressed in “CAMBODIAN SON”:
Kosal Khiev’s story brings to light multiple, intersecting issues including immigration and deportation, incarceration, juvenile justice, art as integral to healing and full human development, and so much more. The film “CAMBODIAN SON” arrives at a time when Americans are in the midst of a fierce battle for humane immigration reform, and this documentary can be a vehicle to have deeper discussions, build consciousness about the experiences of immigrants from Asian America, and make connections between these experiences with other immigrant and refugee communities in the US.
Bio on Masahiro Sugano
Masahiro Sugano (b.1972, Osaka Japan)
Masahiro Sugano, a Sundance Film Festival alumni, is an award winning filmmaker whose accolades stretch from a Student Academy Award nomination in 1997 to his most recent award as the 2013 grant recipient for Center for Asian American Media’s Innovation Fund. After an international run at film festivals in Pusan, Singapore and
Buenos Aires, Sugano’s first feature length film ART OF LOVE was distributed on DVD. He earned a B.A. in philosophy from California State University (Northridge) and an M.F.A. in film/video/animation from the University of Illinois (Chicago). His recent short film “Why I Write (2011)” won the Best Poem Performance on Film award at the 2012 Berlin Zebra Poetry Festival and the Best Director award at the 2013 Los Angeles Asians on Film Festival. Through his media lab Studio Revolt, Sugano has created short films featuring Khmer Exiled Americans on the issue of deportation. In 2011, the studio’s viral hit “My Asian Americana” won the publics’ vote for the White House What’s Your Story Video Challenge but was controversially dismissed by contest organizers. CAMBODIAN SON is Sugano’s second feature, an award winning documentary that follows the journey of an exiled American spoken word poet, Kosal Khiev, from the streets of Phnom Penh to the stages of London during the 2012 Cultural Olympiad. His next project is an experimental web series titled “VERSES IN EXILE” a prequel to CAMBODIAN SON that features more of Kosal Khiev’s biography is scheduled to stream on PBS.org on March 19, 2015. Sugano currently resides in Phnom Penh Cambodia where he runs his media lab. www.studio-revolt.com
Bio on Studio Revolt
Studio Revolt (Chicago/Phnom Penh/Osaka) Studio Revolt is an independent artist run media lab that produces films, videos, installations and performance projects in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The media lab serves as a collaborative space for both performance artist Anida Yoeu Ali and filmmaker Masahiro Sugano. Through his films, Sugano reconsiders cultural and political norms that have constricted our imagination and dulled our senses. Ali performs unapologetic poems and declarations of the self beyond fixed identities and borders. Together their works open up possibilities for people to exist outside of conventional narratives. Studio Revolt takes it a step further by urging viewers to become participants and stake their claim in this world.
Since their arrival in 2011, Studio Revolt has become a prominent presence in the contemporary arts scene of Phnom Penh showcasing their works in public screenings, exhibitions, and public art projects. The studio selected exiled poet Kosal Khiev as their first artist-in-residence in 2011 with the hopes of garnering international attention on his story through their collaborative media projects. In 2012, “Why I Write” featuring the spoken word performance of Kosal Khiev was awarded “Best Poem Performance on Film” at the Berlin Zebra Poetry Film Festival. Studio Revolt’s first unofficial collaboration, “1700% Project: Mistaken For Muslim (2010),” a film about hate crimes against Muslims after 9/11, was the grand prize recipient for LinkTV’s One Chicago One Nation film competition. The following year their short film “My Asian Americana (2011)” addressing the issue of Cambodian American deportations won the popular public vote in a White House competition but failed to be rewarded as promised by contest organizers. In 2014, Studio Revolt released their first feature documentary CAMBODIAN SON awarded the “Top Documentary Award” at the 2014 CAAMFest in San Francisco and “Special Jury Prize for Best Documentary” at the Cultural Resistance Film Festival in Lebanon. In 2015, the studio launches an ambitious archive project to record and preserve all Khmer Exiled American stories so they are never forgotten from Asian/American History.