Ung, Bun Y

Royal University of Phnom Penh, Cambodia

He is the acting director at the Department of Media and Communication of the Royal University of Phnom Penh. His fields of interest range from multimedia journalism to film production. Besides teaching, he is a frequent contributor of the Cambodian Communication Review, the annual publication of the Department of Media and Communication and the Cambodia Communication Institute featuring research articles and critical commentaries on media and communication in Cambodia. He received an MA degree in International Journalism Studies from Hong Kong and a professional certificate in Multimedia and Online Journalism from Germany.

Van, Sovathana

Royal University of Phnom Penh, Cambodia

She received a master's degree in Philology from Simferopol University (Ukraine) in 1993 and has been teaching at the Department of Khmer Literature of the Royal University of Phnom Penh since then. Her overseas teaching experience includes stints at Ubon Ratchathani University (Thailand), University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (U.S.) and Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (Japan). Her research interests include Japanese modern novels. She is working as an essayist and her pieces are largely autobiographical.

Ly, Bun Yim

Filmmaker (Director of "Puthisen and Neang Kongrey"), Cambodia

Born in 1942, he is one of the most widely recognized Cambodian filmmakers of 1960’s and 1970’s. His first film was Thunderbolt in the Family (1961). He produced many films including Sabbseth (1965), Khmer after Angkor (1972) and 12 Sisters (1968). They won commercial success when it was released. 12 Sisters was screened at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2012. Later, it was digitalized in Tokyo and shown at the Osaka Asian Film Festival and Yebisu International Festival for Art and Alternative Visions in 2016. When Cine Adobo held a symposium in Tokyo in 2017, the Cambodian digital version was first screened in Japan.

Pal, Vannarirak

Khmer Writers Association, Cambodia

She is a Cambodian novelist, poet, scriptwriter and lyricist. Her first novel Darkness Went Away published 1989 won the first prize of the 10th Anniversary 7 January Victory Award. After the end of civil war, she put much effort into revive of the Khmer Writer’s Association established in 1954. In 1995 she won the first prize of the Preah Sihanouk Reach Award for her novel Unforgettable. She participated the Sweden International Poem Festival in 2002 and presented her new poem titled “Khmer Moon”. She was invited to give lectures on Khmer literature as a visiting guest by Japan Foundation, Tokyo in 2003. She won the Southeast Asian Writers Award in 2006. In 2003, Darkness Went Away was translated into Japanese and published in Tokyo.

Doung, Sarakpich

FIL-K Entertainment, Cambodia

Graduated from National University of Management in 2013 (Business and Economic). Since 2015, working for FIL-K Entertainment (former Filkhmer Studio) as a studio producer, as a Khmer dubbing Producer / Director / Script writer and as a Khmer subtitle editor. His main works: Dubbing–SING (US Animation Film), Despicable Me 3 (US Animation Film), Doraemon (Japanese TV animation) (party subtitled), Shin Chan (Japanese TV animation) (party subtitled). Subtitles, Japanese Film Festival - Cambodia 2015: Khmer subtitles for all 17 movies.

Bouandaoheuang, Athidxay

Mind Media, Laos

With a special interest in community development, he studied documentary film production at Deer Park Institute in India after he graduated from Faculty of Engineering, National University of Laos in 2007. From 2009 to 2016 as a manager of PADETC’s DOKLao (Discovery of Lao Knowledge) Media Centre, he has facilitated a media program that teaches skills in VDO/Filmmaking for young Lao filmmakers. Since 2017, he is a co-director of Mind Media (former DOKLao Mdeia Centre) and supports independent media and films. He has been a coordinator for Vientianale Film Festival since 2009 and is also the co-founder of Lao New Wave Cinema Production. Since 2010, he has produced 3 feature films, “Hak Am Lam”, “Vientiane in Love”, and “Noy: Above it all”.

Luangmovihane, Dethnakhone

Lao Cinema Department, Laos

He is a deputy director of Film Promotion Division at Lao Cinema Department. He received a master's degree in International Communication from Communication University of China in 2012. Since 2006 he has been involved in video shooting and editing at National Film Archive and Video Center and Lao Cinema Department. His main works: Documentary film- “Lao and River”, “35th year anniversary establishment of Lao PDR”, “450th year anniversary founding Vientiane as Capital city”, “100th anniversary of Late President Souphanovong”, “Vat Simeung” and Feature film- “To Be Soldier”. Since 2013, he is working on for film promotion as well as film production.

Phollurxa, Khamphuy

National University of Laos, Laos

She received a master's degree in Development Sociology from Khon Kaen University (Thailand) in 2000. Since 1982, she has been teaching at Vientiane Pedagogical University and the Department of Lao Language, Faculty of Letters, National University of Laos as a lecturer. Her overseas teaching experience includes stints at Guangxi University for Nationalities (China). Her specialty is Lao Cultural Studies, especially focusing on Lao traditional folktales and Lao people’s belief. Her works include: “Naga pattern Lao identity textile” (2012), “Phaya Verse and Lao people’s lifestyle” (2014) and “Waken up by the sound of crying” (a collection of poem, 2016).

Boonkhachorn, Trisilpa

Thailand P.E.N. Center, Thailand

She is current president of Thailand P.E.N. Center. She received PhD in Thai Literature from Chulalongkorn University in 1987 and in Comparative Literature from University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) in 1991. She has been teaching at Department of Comparative Literature, Faculty of Art Chulalongkorn University. She has a lot of overseas teaching experience including Osaka University of Foreign Studies in Japan. Since 2016 she has also worked as an academic specialist in Thai Language and Literature at Department of Thai, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Songkhlanakharin University, Pattani Campus, Thailand. Her works in English include “The Development and Trends of Literary Study in Thailand”, “Intertextuality as a Paradigm for Literary Study in Thai Literary and Social Contexts” and so on.

Uabumrungjit, Chalida

Thai Film Archive, Thailand

She is a deputy director of Thai Film Archive. She received a master's degree in Film Archiving from University of East Anglia, UK. She is one of the founding members of Thai Short Film and Video Festival. She has advocated for independent films and film preservation in Thailand She has been involved in various international festivals as a coordinator of Thai films.

Tudkeao, Chamwit

Chulalongkorn University, Thailand

He works as assistant professor at South Asian Languages Section, Department of Eastern Languages, Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University. He obtained his M.A. in Buddhist Studies from Kyoto University (Japan) in 2004 and PhD in Indology and Tibetology, Ludwig-Maximilian Universität München (Germany) in 2009. His works include ‘Versionen des Ratnaketuparivarta: Studien über die Überlieferung des Ratnaketuparivarta und eine kritische Ausgabe der Sanskrit-Fragmente’ (PhD dissertation) and “Buddhist Beliefs Reflected in Tibetan Daily Prayer Book in Comparison with the Chinese Ones” (Understanding 21st Century China in Buddhist Asia: History, Modernity, and International Relations. 2016).

Saengduenchai, Sompote

Film director, Producer (Technical Director of "Phra Rod Meree"), Thailand

Born in 1941, he is one of the most widely recognized Thai film director, special effects creator and producer. In 1962, he received a scholarship to study filmmaking at Toho company in Japan for two years. He had an opportunity to work with Eiji Tsuburaya and study special effects. After coming back to Thailand he founded Chaiyo Productions and produced many distinguished special effects-based films including Hanuman vs. 7 Ultraman (1974), Hanuman and the Five Riders (1975) and Phra Rod Meree (1981). He is now living in Ayutthaya province, owning "Ultraman Land" with numerous pieces of (more than 1 million) collected objects about Ultraman Series.

Okada, Tomoko

Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, Japan

She is an associate professor and has been teaching at the Department of Cambodian Studies of Tokyo University of Foreign Studies since 1997. Prior to this, she studied and researched on Cambodian literature and writers in Phnom Penh as a student of the Royal University of Phnom Penh from 1994 to 1996. Her research and teaching interests include modern and contemporary Cambodian literature, film, music and popular culture. Her translations of modern Cambodian literature into Japanese have been published in Tokyo, Japan; Nou Hach’s the Faded Flower and the Garland of Heart, Pal Vannarirak’s Darkness Went Away, Chuth Khay’s Boarders at the Pagoda, Khmeng Salabarang and Sentimental Buffalo, a collection of short stories by Soth Polin, Khun Srun, Mao Somnang, Meyson Sotheary, and Oum Sambat’s autobiography 1366 days Under the Hell.

Hashimoto, Sayaka

Tokyo Zokei University, Japan

She has been teaching at Tokyo Zokei University as an assistant professor since 2014. Her specialty is Sport Anthropology and Lao studies, especially focusing on traditional boat racing culture in Asian countries. She obtained her PhD in Anthropology from Graduate School of Human Sciences, Waseda University, after conducting field research since 2005 to 2009 in Vientiane and Luang Prabang, Laos. Her PhD thesis is “Relationship between Tradition and Sports in Boat Racing Festival in Laos” (2015). Her current research interests are sports policies for ethnic minorities in Laos through traditional sports competitions and representation of Lao society and culture by Lao films.

Hiramatsu, Hideki

Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, Japan

He obtained his M.A. in Comparative Literature from Chulalongkorn University in 2001 and PhD in Literature from Osaka University in 2006. He specializes on Thai literature, comparative literature and comparative culture. He has carried out a number of research on Thai literature from the perspective of gender and Buddhism. His current research interest is in popular culture in Thailand, and cultural relationship between Thailand and Japan. His work in English includes “Thai Literary Trends: From Seni Saowaphong to Chart Kobjitti” (Kyoto Review of Southeast Asia. Issue 8-9 Culture and Literature (March 2007).

Yamamoto, Hiroyuki

Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, Japan

He specializes on the modern history of Sabah, Malaysia and its neighboring areas. Prior to his current appointment as Associate Professor at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS), Kyoto University, he had held various appointments including Visiting Research Associate at the Institute for Development Studies (IDS) in Sabah, Malaysia; Lecturer at Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Malaysia; Research Associate at the Consulate-General of Japan at Medan, Indonesia and Associate Professor at the National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka, Japan. He was a visiting research associate at the Institute for the Philippine Culture (IPC) at the Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines. His current research interest is in the role of theater and cinema in the making of modern concepts of nation in Southeast Asia. He has co-edited Film in Contemporary Southeast Asia: Cultural Interpretation and Social Intervention (Routledge, 2011) and Bangsa and Umma: Development of People-Grouping Concepts in Islamized Southeast Asia (Kyoto University Press, 2011). Project manager of Cine Adobo Project.