TOMS Shoes Spring Catalogue on Location in Cambodia with Dengue Fever

One for one. With every pair purchased, TOMS will give a new pair of shoes to a child in need. TOMS is a successful social enterprise that has given more than 2 million pairs of shoes to children around the world thanks to its one-for-one model. More recently TOMS has moved into eyewear and provides free glasses or a sight operation to people in the developing world every time someone buys a pair of sunglasses.

The TOMS team travelled to Cambodia in September 2012 to shoot a documentary about their philanthropic work in the kingdom and put together images for their 2013 Spring catalogue. TOMS founder Blake Mycoskie joined the team for a short visit and the shoot was a superb success, including project visits to Cambodia Children’s Fund in Phnom Penh and Seva in Battambang Province.

The documentary shoot ran for a week and included a secret visit to the kingdom by three members of the celebrated fusion band Dengue Fever, including Nimol, Zac and Paul. The catalogue shoot continued into the second half of the month and featured renowned Somali supermodel Ubah Hassan, who had a fantastic experience in the country.

From the TOMS website: “Join us on a journey through Cambodia and see the amazing impact you’re helping to make in a country where TOMS gives shoes and restores sight. The digital edition of the Spring 2013 catalog features behind-the-scenes videos of our giving efforts and invites you to discover our entire Spring collection – shot on location – while sharing your favourite stories and products.”

From the Dengue Fever website: “In the summer of 2012, TOMS invited DENGUE FEVER to participate in their One for One giving trip to Cambodia. TOMS choice to invite DENGUE FEVER was a perfect match for this gifting mission because of singer Chhom Nimol’s incredible story of growing up in refugee camps, destined to immigrate to the United States and front a band of Americans, who meld the sounds of Cambodian Psych, Surf, Afro Beat and Garage Rock into a bopping Odyssey. The band quickly accepted the offer, and Nimol, Zac, and Paul packed their bags for a very emotional ten days, journeying to Siem Reap, Battambang, and Phnom Penh to support TOMS and their giving partners in Cambodia, Cambodian Children’s Fund and Seva Foundation.”

The TOMS crew had a ball with the Hanuman Films team in Cambodia and Kulikar Sotho was once again rated as the best Fixer they had worked with anywhere in the world. We have a sneaky feeling they will be back in Cambodia at some stage, as they all had such an incredible experience.

“Dear Kulikar, I cannot tell you how amazing working with you has been such a joy! You are a true professional. Thank You.” Felipe Hernandez, VP of Creative Services, TOMS.

To view the TOMS Spring catalogue, shot on location in Cambodia, visit: http://www.toms.com/catalog/spring2013?icid=us_header_digitalcatalog

To learn more about Dengue Fever and their new album In the Ley Lines, head to: http://denguefevermusic.com/home.cfm

Hanuman Films on assignment in Myanmar (Burma)

Hanuman Films Production Coordinator Richard Currie was recently in Myanmar (Burma) to film the Ayravata Cruise (RV Paukkan) from Mandalay to Bagan. Here he shares some of the highlights of the filming trip.

The temples of Bagan at sunset

9 March 2013

Prepped all equipment at Hanuman HQ and was then taken to the airport at 5:30. Boarded plane at 7:00 and then the two hour journey to Yangon, it took about an hour to get my visa. I was greeted by my driver and then taken to my hotel. Had a small walk around and enjoyed a beer with some locals. Tried to buy some food but unfortunately my twenty dollar bill had a very small tear and the local shop refused to take it, had to go to sleep hungry.

10 March 2013

Woke up early and enjoyed a breakfast, toast and eggs with English tea. Prepared the Canon 5D for the shoot and meet my guide who spoke perfect English. We are driven into the city centre and then start to walk around on foot. Yangon is a very busy and vibrant city, but there are no tuk-tuk or moto drivers so there is no hassle for a ride which is a nice change. The people of Burma are still not used to media folk because the second I take out my camera people are staring at it like it’s an alien artefact. We explore Yangon filming the beautiful old buildings. We head to the top floor of a high rise building where I am able to get some amazing wide shots of Yangon. Next we head to Kandawgyi Lake which is very unusual because it is bright green from all the plant life beneath the surface. After lunch, we see the reclining Buddha and then a site where there are hundreds of beautiful pagodas. We head to a local market in Chinatown where I get too see some of the proper local life. I heard that Burmese people can be a bit reluctant to be filmed but I found it was the opposite, they were more than happy to be filmed and flattered that someone was paying attention to their everyday lives. We make it to the port just in time to see the sun setting and I get some amazing footage.

11 March 2013

Wake-up call at 5:45 and taken to the airport for my flight at 8:00. The airport is very undeveloped and there are no screens showing flight times. After arrival in Mandalay, we get on a small fishing boat and head over to a small village where we jump on a small horse cart and head for some of the local sights. We visit a wooden monastery which is spectacular, as they have these enormous wooden pillars which go from the ground right up to the ceiling and each one weighs about a ton or more.

In Burma all the locals chew on betel leaf which has bits of wood and berries in it. It’s like smoking with fewer health risks. The only drawback is it turns your teeth red after time. It also causes lots of spitting because you build up excessive saliva from the chewing so you have all the red stains on the pavement where people have spat. I meet some local men in a temple who are rolling some of these fresh leaves. They offer me one. Not wanting to be rude and out of curiosity I pop this small leaf into my mouth and start to chew. I’ve eaten some horrible things in my time but this was by far the worst. After five minutes of enduring this disgusting bundle in my mouth I have to spit the contents out, much to the amusement of the people watching. My guide and I head to the teak bridge at Amarapura. This is an amazing location and we start our journey across which takes about forty five minutes because I keep stopping to get footage. My guide is very knowledge and he has an excellent spot where we enjoy the sunset. It has been a very long day and I head to my hotel where I relax for the rest of the night.

12 March 2013

In the morning I film some footage in the main city and I’m then taken to the cruise ship where I am welcomed by the crew. The vessel is very beautiful and my room is extremely comfortable with a balcony view. We leave the port at 11:30 and I get some spectacular footage from the deck of the ship of the many pagodas which line the shores. We stop at a local village to pick up the cruise passengers who have been on a bus tour for the day. I take the opportunity to get some footage of the villagers before we leave. I enjoy dinner with my fellow passengers, the food is beautiful and the waiting staff are very friendly.

13 March 2013

I am woken at 6:30 with a cup of tea and some fruit. We head by bus to our first location of the day. The scenery is very beautiful and I kept wanting to stop and get footage but we are on a tight schedule. Fortunately one of the guides has a very weak bladder and we have to keep stopping so he can relieve himself so I take advantage of these breaks and film footage of the scenery. We arrive at Monywa where we visit Hpowindaung caves which are a collection of Buddha statues which have been carved into the mountains. This is a spectacular location and everywhere I point my camera gives me some incredible footage. Next we arrive at Sambuddai Kat Kyaw Pagoda which has 500,000 Buddha statues. We only have fifteen minutes at this location so I have to run around like a man possessed trying to film as much as possible Finally we go to the site of a standing and lying Buddha which are over 15 stories tall.

14 March 2013

We arrive at the Yandabo village where we stop and visit the villagers who specialize in pot making. I leave the group and decide to investigate the village myself, within two minutes I am lost and spend the next half an hour trying to find my way back to the ship. Once we re-group we make a short journey on the cruise ship to our next location which is Shwe Pyi Thar village. This is a small farming village with beautiful green countryside. I observe a group of young girls making multiple visits to the river where they collect water and carry it up the banks. We visit a local school where they treat us to some local songs and recite the alphabet perfectly. On the way back to the ship I am able to film a local man climbing thirty foot up a palm tree to collect palm juice. He doesn’t hesitate once and scales the ladder at an amazing speed.

15 March 2013

The cruise ship arrives in Bagan and my fellow passengers disembark and make the journey to the pagodas. I will be visiting the pagodas the following day so I take the opportunity to film the ship for the cruise video. When the passengers return, they tell me about the sites which they have seen and I’m very excited to explore the next day.

16 March 2013

I say goodbye to my fellow passengers and crew and meet with my guide who introduces me to the many temples and pagodas of Bagan. There are literally hundreds and I keep getting the driver to stop every five minutes so I can get footage. The heat started to really get to me and I went through many litres of water to keep myself hydrated. We arrive at a popular tourist spot for watching the sunset atop a very large pagoda. There were almost a hundred people and very little room for an extra camera so I opted to go one storey below which gave just as good a view and meant I didn’t have to fight for a picture.

17 March 2013

I get up early and my guide takes me to a temple to see the sunrise. We then go round the remaining temples which I hadn’t covered the day before. We head to a local village where we see the villagers ground down berries in a machine and then sift through it by hand. The pile of berries which the villagers have to go through are the size of a house and they do this every day. Then it was on to the airport and back to Cambodia to work on editing the huge amount of footage that I shot during my one-week trip.

Cambodia’s Kulikar Sotho lines up Om-Tuk, Last Reel

Hanuman Films was recently namechecked in a Screen Daily online article on latest projects Om Tuk and The Last Reel. Excerpts from that article follow here.

“Filming wraps in a few days in Cambodia on the international co-production Om-Tuk which Australian writer/directors Amiel Courtin-Wilson and Michael Cody are producing alongside Phnom Penh-based Kulikar Sotho.

Sotho is also gearing up to direct her first feature, The Last Reel, written and produced by the UK’s Ian Masters. She co-owns Hanuman Films, a service company that first worked on Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and most recently on the Australian drama Wish You Were Here.

Om-Tuk is being filmed in the Khmer language and focuses on two young Cambodians who are not accepted by society and find it difficult to trust anyone because of the trauma they have experienced.

The film will combine elements of a love story, a road movie and a crime drama – and it has a metaphysical edge. Courtin-Wilson and Cody spent three months late last year researching, writing and filming in Cambodia, coming up with two potential projects.

“The idea was to fold real stories into the fiction-writing process,” Cody told Screendaily, adding that it was a similar methodology as the one used for Hail, the previous film directed by Courtin-Wilson. “We got a lot of great material and detail and this has given the film a lot of authenticity.”

After editing and further working on the script of Om-Tuk back in Australia, the pair returned to Cambodia in early January for the rest of the filming. The government agencies Screen Australia and ScreenNSW, and a private investor, are supporting the project.

Cody formed a bond with Cambodia a decade ago when he reported on the country for ABC TV. He has returned many times since.

The Last Reel will tell a universal story of contemporary inter-generational conflict but also looks back at Cambodia’s painful past, namely the genocide and brutality of the 1970s. Sotho said about 60% of the budget was in place.

“It is a story about the overwhelming human need for stories and storytelling as part of a healing process,” says Sotho. “If having watched our film, young people in Cambodia are inspired to talk to their parents about the past, and vice-versa, I believe that the film will have contributed to this healing process … There would be no greater reward for me than to inspire the next generation of Cambodians to become filmmakers.”

Sotho said the film also sends the message that women should not be frowned upon for being independent in thought and action.

The Khmer Rouge Tribunal is currently examining in Cambodia.”

Amiel Courtin-Wilson’s Om Tuk moving forward

One of Hanuman Films’ first co-productions, Om Tuk is already drawing critical acclaim and interest thanks to the success of Amiel Courtin-Wilson’s Hail. Read this interview on Om Tuk from the Peril Blog in Australia.

Hail and Momentum (copyright Peril 2013)

“Filmmakers Amiel Courtin-Wilson and Michael Cody have a busy few months ahead of them. Their first feature film together Hail, directed by Amiel and produced by Michael, has just started its run of single cinema releases into most Australian capital cities. Buoyed by a growing list of rave reviews, including being picked the stand out Australian feature by film critic Adrian Martin in The Monthly, as well as winning the Age Critics Award for best Australian feature at the Melbourne International Film Festival, Hail is generating the kind of excitement for Australian cinema last seen by David Michôd’s Animal Kingdom.

In the midst of this, the two are preparing to return to Cambodia in January to complete shooting their second feature together, this time as co-directors, on a film that had appeared almost intact over a breakneck couple of months in late 2011. Om Tuk, a Cambodian language film set primarily in Phnom Penh, materialised on what was initially supposed to be a scouting mission following Hail’s premier at the Venice Film Festival. In Phnom Penh they mentioned to local producer Kulikar Sotho, who runs a production company called Hanuman Films, that they wanted to develop a film. Kulikar surprised them by offering her support with the film’s infrastructure and financing.

In what Amiel calls ‘an exercise in sheer will and momentum’, they immediately began to simultaneously research, cast and write the film, developing a 20-page scene breakdown. The story is in essence, ‘ A love story, road movie between young Cambodians who have both escaped situations of respective urban adversity. They come together and there is an inexplicable attraction between the two of them. After an accidental murder they set about travelling up the Mekong River to Angkor Wat and along the way there’s a series of increasingly metaphysical encounters,’ says Amiel.

Using a similar working method to the one they used for Hail, Amiel and Michael worked extensively with the two lead actors, developing their characters around their own personal experiences. In the first week of November 2011, a small film crew arrived from Australia and over 21 days shot 85% of the film, in the knowledge that they would need to return and complete it later, with rewrites based on the initial footage.

Can you describe what making a Cambodian language film was like, not speaking Khmer yourselves?

We were conscious of what had come before in terms of the few western-based productions that have been set in Cambodia. There’s this quite problematic fetishising of the exotic and the other. For that reason we were really conscious of being open in the dialogue that we had with the two lead actors and enabling them to contribute in a really meaningful fashion.

The film was written kind of playing to the strengths that we knew we had, in as much as the film was predominantly filmed at night around the streets of Phnom Penh and there isn’t a lot of dialogue, so we wrote the piece based on knowing we were trying to tell a story as visually as possible.

Were there things you were aware of in order to keep a Cambodian authenticity?

Totally. I think the biggest thing that we grappled with culturally in terms of making sure it was authentic was just the nature of a Cambodian love story and just how chaste they are as a culture. In a sense, because you’re also dealing with two characters coming out the other side of a traumatic past, in many ways the love story is extraordinarily gentle, almost erring on the platonic in terms of how it evolves. That was very much based on research that we did in terms of the physicality of young Cambodians in love, I suppose, whether that’s in physical displays of affection, how that plays out behind closed doors.

Cody and I found that it was actually a hugely liberating thing to work in another language solely because there’s a purity in how you gauge any given performance based on the sheer physicality and the behavioural and the gestural facets of any given scene. So you’re actually able to cut through the noise of language, especially when something’s improvisational and just works on the truth of body language.

The big thing about Om Tuk in general is there has been such a focus on Cambodia for its more, in crass terms, poverty porn or the more sensationalist elements of the culture, be it child prostitution or drugs or human trafficking. We wanted to not shy away from that stuff but focus on what happens when two young modern day Cambodians transcend that environment.

What it was like working in Cambodia, for yourself and the Australian crew?
What was amazing about shooting in a documentary fashion but shooting drama, as opposed to in a western setting, people still aren’t inured to seeing a film crew, so it meant that you could get really amazingly authentic and really intimate scenes without people becoming self conscious or performing for the camera.

In terms of the sheer logistics it was extraordinarily chaotic. We had a crew of about four or five, a camera van, a translator and occasionally an assistant of two. What that meant was you were pretty much able to shoot in real locations, into places that you would otherwise never be able to access in a western country. We were filming in brothels and in some quite disreputable establishments.

Om Tuk is now a co-production between Hanuman Films and Flood Projects, the production company formed by Amiel in 2008, with he, Michael Cody and Kulikar Sotho producers. The film has already attracted the interest of an American sales agent to handle the US release, with the team keen to get an Australian distributor on board for its planned premier in mid-2013.”

French Colonial Car for your Production in Cambodia

We can now offer a unique opportunity to add some old world charm of elegant travel in French Colonial Indochina of the 1920s into your production with the superbly restored replica Rolls-Royce Twenty that appeared in the family adventure film Two Brothers, by famous French movie director Jean-Jacques Annaud. The movie was shot amongst the temples and exquisite countryside in Cambodia and hit the big screen in 2004 – a timeless and heartwarming tale about the power of friendship and the bond between brotherly tiger cubs – that shows off Cambodia in its best light. The car itself was used extensively throughout the film.

More details on our website here: http://hanumanfilms.com/credits-films.html

Hanuman’s very own replica Rolls-Royce Twenty, with comfortable seating for two passengers, is now available as your car of choice for your presenters or cast to explore the Temples of Angkor, or for your transportation with a difference in and around Siem Reap, as well as pick up for your transfer to and from Siem Reap International Airport. In the early part of the 20th Century, Rolls-Royce cars were described as the best cars in the world. Relive those magical memories of French Colonial Indochina with Hanuman.

See a video of the striking yellow vehicle travelling around the temples.

Temple Run at the Temples

The Temples of Angkor Wat in Cambodia have been used for a variety of filming in the past, these skillfull freerunners explored the ruins of Angkor in their own unique way. A great video which shows off some of the magnificient temple locations in detail.

Lets do it Phnom Penh 2012 Bike Ride Video

Heres the Finished Video which Hanuman Films produced for Lets do it Phnom Penh 2012.more information below.

Filming for Lets do it 2012

Over the weekend we filmed a group cycling trip from Phnom Penh to Kep that was part of a global initiative called ‘ Lets do it ‘. Cambodia is one of the 91 countries that have joined this movement since 2011 and this was one of the many warm up events to promote the big clean up day on August 26th later on this year. From March to September this year, a series of cleanups will sweep over the globe, touching all continents and bringing together millions of people who will be cleaning up their homes.

The overall aim of the Cambodia portion of Lets do it is to to bring awareness about litter and the enviroment, aswell as educating Cambodians about the negative effects of littering . Bicycling is a good way to represent this point hence this mammoth of a journey from Phnom Penh to Kep.It is an ecologically friendly activity that lets people enjoy a healthy lifestyle and encourage Cambodians in the city to ride Bikes instead of big Cars on short journeys. We believe in clean transportation and want to see Cambodians riding bicycles more often.

There were 5am starts on both the days of the trip to ensure the cyclists beat the mid day heat. The filming was verite style with our Camera Operator travelling on the back of a scramble bike to capture those shots needed where larger vehicles could not follow. Here at Hanuman Films we go above and beyond for our Camera Operators to capture the highest standards of footage for our clients as possible. The Countryside was in full bloom in time with Cambodias wet season or as we like to call it ‘ Green Season ‘ . Over rickety bridges, through lush Green fields, past lines of monks in the early morning light, mountains looming overhead, smiling school children chasing after the bikes. Sometimes to see the real beauty of a country you have to go deep into the Country side and Cambodia does not dissapoint. Video coming soon…

Event Video Production in Cambodia

We recently supported the Local NGO ‘ Village Focus ‘ with a promotional Video for their fundraising events called ‘ Party with a Conscience ‘ .

P.W.A.C is organized by a group of volunteers and all bands & Dj’s volunteer their time, skills and tunes for free to help raise money and awareness against child-trafficking in Cambodia.

This Video will help promote and bring more exposure to future events to raise more money for this good cause. 100% of all profit from the parties goes to a anti-trafficking shelter in Phnom Penh that houses 48 girls that have been trafficked, abused and exploited.

Here is what Talia Smith the Anti-trafficking Project Coordinator for Village Focus and Organiser of the Event has to say of the Video.

We just watched the video and LOVE IT!!!!GREAT, great work!My boss also very much liked the video. Its fun, informative, inspiring and makes you want to go to the parties!! I really like how the first bit is about the party and the second about the cause.

Really, really, really good – you’ve got skills!! Thank you so, so much. Its going to be such a great tool for future events – hopefully it can help bring some sponsorship in,etc. It will especially help in London events ….

You can find more about the event here:

http://www.facebook.com/Partywithaconscience

For more information about the NGO please visit:

http://www.villagefocus.org/

German Car Show Production in March

Back in March of this year we asissted with a German Executive Producer/Director on one of the most successful TV shows about cars on the German speaking TV market called “VOX auto mobil”.

Markus required information about a story of a car called the ‘ Angkor car’made in Cambodia by Cambodian inventor Mr. Nhean Phaloek.

we organised one of our team to go and research information on the story with a list of questions to ask the inventor Mr Phaloek to determine whether the story is right for what Markus was looking for.

After the succesful research, Hanuman Films liased on the best available date for both Markus and Mr Phaloek for the one day shoot as well as the schedule for the day. As time was tight and Markus could only be in Cambodia for one day due to shooting commitments in other neigbouring countries the organisation had to be to the upmost precision.

We arranged a translator for the day to asisst Markus interview Nhean Phaloek and also a vehicle in order for Markus to get some driving shots of Nhean Phaloek in his vehicle. Our experienced driver who has worked on many Film and Television productions before made sure Markus could get the smoothest shots possible.

After a very succesful shoot, here is what Markus had to say:

“For one of the most successful TV shows about cars on the German speaking TV market called “VOX auto mobil” we had the pleasure to work with Hanuman Films on this project. The story about the first car ever invented in Cambodia. The great think about Hanuman is, that you feel supported 24hrs. Whenever we needed some information about the project while we did the research, one of Hanumans Producer (Robin) answered us within 24hrs. This was a great help and made everything pretty smooth. Also on the project itself they helped us out with a guide who was smart, fast and really easy going. In the afternoon we asked for a van, including driver with great driving skills (for driving shots outside of the car) and 30 minutes later: we had the perfect match. After all and after all our experience in Asia. I can easily recommend Hanuman Films for projects in Cambodia. Reasonable(!) prices and great people made our project easy and fast! Thanks so much!!! Next time in Cambodia, I know where to go!”

Markus Zwilling, Director and Executive Producer of nimbusfilm, working for VOX auto mobil

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