This week starts with
the exhibition opening of “BETWEEN:
CAMBODIAN-BURMESE ART EXCHANGE
this TUESDAY, 14/06, at 6PM

We attach an invitation.
(Reception/fingerfood)

Myanmar and Cambodia are sharing a similar history of visual culture. One was colonized by the British and the other by the French. Modern history of both nations effected artists and their artistic language. Throughout the decades, different artistic expression and its tempo crystallized in each country. Looking for similarities, differences and ‘betweenness” of those notions are subject of the art project BETWEEN. 13 days of open studio is followed by tonight’s exhibition opening, featuring the works of Burmese artists Aung Naing Soe, Ma Ei, Htoo Aung Kywa and Phyu Mon and Cambodian artist Yim Maline, Khvay Samnang, Meas Sokhorn and Tes Vanna.

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WEDNESDAY, 15/06
SPORTS, CRIME AND POLITICS IN COLOMBIA: “THE TWO ESCOBARS”
7PM: Pablo Escobar was the world’s most powerful drug kingpin; Andres Escobar was the biggest soccer star in Colombia. The two were not related, but their fates were fatally intertwined. Pablo’s drug money had turned Andres’ national team into South American champions, favored to win the 1994 World Cup in Los Angeles. There Andres committed one of the most shocking mistakes in soccer history, scoring an “own goal” that eliminated his team from the competition and cost him his life. Jeff and Michael Zimbalist’s fast and furious documentary THE TWO ESCOBARS (2010, 100 mins) is a riveting examination of the intersection of sports, crime, and politics.

THURSDAY, 16/06
FROM NEW YORK CITY TO PHNOM PENH: “BENNY LACKNER TRIO” LIVE
8PM: Born in Berlin (Germany), Benny Lackner went to study in the USA with pianist Brad Mehldau. Later on Lackner performed at the famous Monterey and Montreux jazz festivals and is now residing in NYC, where he has formed his own group. Lackner has recently shared bills with acclaimed downtown NYC artists such as Elvis Costello, the Jazz Passengers and Sex Mob. Please be our guest for tonight’s concert of the BENNY LACKNER TRIO, made possible through kind support by the Goethe-Institut. The group reveals its virtuosity in their unconventional interpretation of contemporary pop hits by such diverse artists as Prince, Bjork and Jimi Hendrix. Free Entrance.

FRIDAY, 17/06
“THE VULTURES”: KATHLEEN GRIFFINS EXHIBIT OPENING AND FILMS
6PM: Kathleen Griffin’ new series of drawings, “The Vultures”, is based on her time in Cambodia with scientist Yula Kapatenakos, whose research has been centered around using the DNA of vultures to track the population and disappearance of the Asian vulture population. Her pioneering research on DNA, it’s collection and the ability to gather it from the tips of fallen vulture feathers, has led not only to a greater understanding of this important animal, but to entirely new ways of monitoring its populations and decline. 8PM: Screening of new films about Cambodian wildlife, environmental and conservation issues by Allan Michaud and other filmmakers.

SATURDAY, 18/06
TWO EVENTS: FRESH FILMS FROM THE DMC & CELLO RECITAL
6.30PM (Gallery): “Art Plus Foundation” presents the documentary “LA LITURGIE DE CHRISTAL” about French composer Olivier Messiaen (107 mins). 8PM: CELLO RECITAL with Matthias Diener (Germany) and Nicolas Ong (Malaysia), performing works by Liszt, Messiaen & W. Rihm. (Admission: 5 USD; students: 1 USD). 7PM: Graduates of the Department of Media and Communication at the Royal University of Phnom have finished their final diploma projects, a selection of which we will show tonight: a film on a online gaming, the booming rice trade at the Cambodian-Vietnamese border, crab farmers in Kep and other slices of life in Cambodia today. Filmmakers will attend the screening (Q&A).

SUNDAY, 19/06
“BUDDHA MOUNTAIN”: CHINESE ART HOUSE SENSATION
7PM: Over the past decade, Li Yu has emerged as one of China’s most provocative art-house film directors. Her movies have often run afoul of mainland authorities because of the taboo and sensitive subjects they take on. Plumbing the depths of the generation gap, she reaches an “Asian indie apex” with her earthy, energetic drama BUDDHA MOUNTAIN (2010, 118 mins, Chinese with English subs). The tale of a trio of drifting, aimless mainland Chinese youth lodging with an uptight Peking opera buff, this assured film is graced with authentic performances and cinematic flair, yielding one of the most dramatically engaging and accessible Asian art-house efforts in recent memory.

Where: META HOUSE
#37, Sothearos Blvd.
Phnom Penh, Kingdom of Cambodia