Luon Sovath's guest appearances

Luon Sovath

The Documentary Life

Jennifer Brea

Neill Barham

Billy Corben

Pedram Shojai

Werner Herzog

Chris Kelly

Lynn Novick

Gotham Chopra

Kelly Richmond Pope

Robert Hardy

David Hoffman

Tom Jennings

Nainita Desai

Christopher Rufo

Steve James

OwlTail

Doc Filmmakers

The number of docos filming in dangerous or hostile environments has been steadily increasing over the past decade, with the access to both dependable portable film gear as well as the best areas in which to tell a given story.  What has not necessarily increased is a filmmaker or journalist’s safety, with 80 being killed in action and over 250 imprisoned last year, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Doc filmmakers Chris Kelly and Venerable Luon Sovath spent years risking their life and limb to tell the story of land grabbing in Cambodia. While innocent people were forcefully removed from their homes in the name of land development, Kelly and Luon were there with cameras filming the events for the world to see. And I had the distinct pleasure of sitting down to talk with them about their experiences making the film, A Cambodian Spring, in hopes of shedding some light into the process of making documentaries in potentially dangerous areas of the world. Topics Discussed How the choice to tell the film entirely from the Cambodian perspective is a complex and demanding, though very unique and rewarding experienceHow 3-6 months living/filming in Cambodia became 6 yrs in the countryHow a monk decides to become a journalist advocating for the rights of those being displaced from their homes by the governmentHostile environment training in the UK prepared Chris for dangerous areas Related SourcesWatch the trailer for A Cambodian Springhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7t12Am6DM18 Sponsors &amp; Thank YousFree Music Archive – Special Thank You to recording artist, Dlay who supplied music for this week’s episode of TDL. You too can download his music or other artist’s music by going to Free Music Archive today! SubscribeApple | Spotify | Stitcher | Rate and ReviewIf you have found value in this podcast please leave a review so it can become more visible to others. Simply click the link and then click on the Ratings and Reviews tab to make your entry. Thank you for your support!

<p>The number of docos filming in dangerous or hostile environments has been steadily increasing over the past decade, with the access to both dependable portable film gear as well as the best areas in which to tell a given story.  What has not necessarily increased is a filmmaker or journalist’s safety, with 80 being killed in action and over 250 imprisoned last year, according to the <a href="https://cpj.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Committee to Protect Journalists</a>.</p><p> </p><p>Doc filmmakers <a href="http://chriskellyfilm.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Chris Kelly</a> and <a href="http://www.martinennalsaward.org/hrd/luon-sovath/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Venerable Luon Sovath</a> spent years risking their life and limb to tell the story of land grabbing in Cambodia. While innocent people were forcefully removed from their homes in the name of land development, Kelly and Luon were there with cameras filming the events for the world to see. And I had the distinct pleasure of sitting down to talk with them about their experiences making the film, <a href="http://acambodianspring.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><em>A Cambodian Spring</em></a><em>, </em>in hopes of shedding some light into the process of making documentaries in potentially dangerous areas of the world.</p><p> </p><h3><strong>Topics Discussed</strong></h3><h3><strong> </strong></h3><ul><li>How the choice to tell the film entirely from the Cambodian perspective is a complex and demanding, though very unique and rewarding experience</li><li>How 3-6 months living/filming in Cambodia became 6 yrs in the country</li><li>How a monk decides to become a journalist advocating for the rights of those being displaced from their homes by the government</li><li>Hostile environment training in the UK prepared Chris for dangerous areas</li></ul><p> </p><h3>Related Sources</h3><p>Watch the trailer for <em>A Cambodian Spring</em></p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7t12Am6DM18" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7t12Am6DM18</a></p><p> </p><h3><strong>Sponsors &amp; Thank Yous</strong></h3><p><a href="http://freemusicarchive.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><strong>Free Music Archive</strong></a><strong> – </strong>Special <strong>Thank You</strong> to recording artist,<strong> </strong><a href="http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Dlay/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Dlay</a> who supplied music for this week’s episode of <strong>TDL</strong>. You too can download his music or other artist’s music by going to <a href="http://freemusicarchive.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Free Music Archive</a> today!</p><p> </p><h3>Subscribe</h3><h4><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-documentary-life/id1112679868" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Apple</a> | <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/0wYlYHJzyk3Y7fHzDDwvmp" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Spotify</a> | <a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/thedocumentarylife/the-documentary-life" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stitcher</a> |</h4><p> </p><h3>Rate and Review</h3><p>If you have found value in this podcast please leave a review so it can become more visible to others. <strong>Simply click the </strong><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/documentary-life-filmmaking-documentary-films-documentary/id1112679868?mt=2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><strong>link</strong></a><strong> and then click on the Ratings and Reviews tab</strong> to make your entry. Thank you for your support!</p>

79 – Filming in Dangerous Environments with Doc Filmmakers, Chris Kelly & Venerable Luon Sovath