About the Project
Produced by the Luang Prabang Film Festival, MEKONG 2030 is a collection of short narrative films that envision the future of the Mekong River from five different national and cultural perspectives. Set in the year 2030, they aim to both entertain and inspire audiences to actively protect this critical life source.
MEKONG 2030 was made possible by the generous support of our partners:
Soul River, Kulikar Sotho (Cambodia)
Soul River is a cautionary tale framed as a lighthearted road (or, rather, river) movie. Set in 2030 in a remote northeast region of Cambodia, it urges contemporary audiences to reconsider their attitudes toward environmental degradation and the impact of climate change on the Mekong basin.
The Che Brother, Anysay Keola (Laos)
Xe returns to the nearly deserted Mekong fishing village in which he was raised. There, he intervenes in a dispute between his siblings over the ethics of exploiting their elderly mother’s blood. The blood has become a valuable commodity to a Western corporation that has been developing a cure for a deadly plague outbreak.
The Forgotten Voices of the Mekong, Sai Naw Kham (Myanmar)
This film tells a story of two women fighting to claim their lost spirits’ attachment to the Mekong River, while channeling community resilience toward its protection.
The Line, Anocha Suwichakornpong (Thailand)
As an artist prepares to open a new exhibition focusing on animism and river ecology, the boundaries between the artwork and the world it represents begin to merge into a site where different forms of knowledge converge.
The Unseen River, Pham Ngoc Lan (Vietnam)
This film tells a story about a middle-aged woman traveling upstream to find a lover she hasn’t seen in 30 years, told alongside a story of a young couple traveling downstream to a strange temple in search of a cure for chronic insomnia.