PHNOM PENH: On 4 November 2022, Neeson Crips Academy, in collaboration with the Chaktomuk Short Film Festival (CSFF), presented ‘The Art of Storytelling in Great Short Films’ with filmmaker Chap Somchanrith as the speaker. Chanrith’s short film ‘A Fistful of Pebbles’ won the top award at CSFF in 2015 and will also be screened again at this year’s festival.

Chanrith was invited to share his experiences on developing different storytelling styles for short films, music videos, and commercial shorts.

“I was very happy to participate in this campaign and share my filmmaking experience with our young generation,” he said. “The NCA students were very active and cooperative. They were able to answer and understand very well all the questions I asked them after the presentation.”

This is the first time that Chanrith was invited as a solo speaker for the CSFF Outreach Campaign. This campaign was created to help educate and raise awareness of the different venues participating in the festival. After his positive experience, Chanrith said that he would be happy to take part in this campaign again in the future.

The Director of CSFF 2022, Sum Sithen, said “I also hope that all participants will be able to learn more from these films, such as about filmmaking techniques. This event will help our youth decide whether to attend the screenings from 25 to 28 November.”

Morn Theara, a student of Neeson Crips Academy, said she was happy to take part in this outreach campaign as it helped her learn more about how short films are made, and also on how to better analyze them.

“I am so delighted to have attended this CSFF Outreach Campaign,” she said. “I learnt many things such as how to make a short film and how to shoot it. If you just watch these films with your naked eyes, without paying attention to each sequence, they may end up meaningless. But if you review them in depth, you will discover some educational concepts behind these films and also reflect on current social problems.”

The Chaktomuk Short Film Festival XI will be held from 25-28 November 2022 at the Chaktomuk Theater, Legend Cinema - Noro Mall, and Major Cineplex - Sorya.

This year, CSFF is supported by the following institutions: Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, Ministry of Information, Cambodian Children’s Fund, Legend Cinema, Major Cineplex, Sabay News, EAC News, Kongchak Pictures, and Snaeng Studio. The festival is still open to receiving further financial support, in order to smoothly hold its 11th edition.

For more updates, check out the following platforms:

Website: http://csff.co

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/CSFF.co/

Telegram៖ https://t.me/csffkh

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ChaktomukShortFilmFestival/