Chris Kelly

srey pov

Srey Pov poses for a photograph in her home at Boeung Kak lake, Phnom Penh. She is one of the community representatives and leader of 'The League of Boeung Kak Women Struggling for Housing Rights.'

Venerable Loun Sovath

The Venerable Loun Sovath poses for a picture at a safehouse in Phnom Penh. He has been evicted from his pagoda and refused stay in any pagoda in Phnom Penh, because of his activities as a human rights defender. (C) Chris Kelly 2011.

Sopheap

Sopheap poses for a photograph in front of her makeshift store / home.

Boeung Kak

A man repairs a makeshift shelter after severe flooding at Boeung Kak.

Boeung Kak

Excavators begin working in the early hours of the morning at Boeung Kak.

Boeung Kak

Children play at Boeung Kak Lake village 6 (the backpacker area), April 2011.

Boeung Kak

Fishing during a sandstorm at Boeung Kak Lake. Phnom Penh © Chris Kelly 2011.

Boeung Kak

A young woman sits at Boeung Kak Lake village 21, April 2011.

Boeung Kak

An old man sits in his fishing boat at the Boeung Kak Lake. Residents are being forcibly evicted to make way for a $79 million development by local company Shukaku Inc.

Boeung Kak

A young boy wades through rubbish at Boeung Kak after severe flooding. © Chris Kelly

Boeung Kak

A young girl stands in the doorway of her soon to be demolished home.

Boeung Kak

The last remaining home behind the mosque at Boeung Kak lake, November 2011.

Boeung Kak

Nget Chhon stands outside her home at Boeung Kak lake. This is the last home remaining in her village, and she has been given 7 days to remove it before the developer will destroy it. She has threatened to set herself on fire if they try to destroy her home.

Boeung Kak

Shukaku staff stand next to the pipe that pumps sand and water into Boeung Kak lake, November 2011.

Boeung Kak

A man fishes at Boeung Kak Lake. © Chris Kelly

Boeung Kak

Residents of Boeung Kak lake pose for a photo outside the house of Nget Chhon, an elderly woman under threat of imminent eviction.

Boeung Kak

A young man sits at Boeung Kak Lake village 6 (the backpacker area), April 2011.

Boeung Kak

A man sells his wares at the Boeung Kak Lake. Residents are being forcibly evicted to make way for a $79 million development by local company Shukaku Inc.

Boeung Kak

A man watches excavators begin to work in the early hours of the morning at Boeung Kak.

Borei Keila

Sopheap sits in front of her makeshift home after being evicted.

Venerable Loun Sovath

The Venerable Loun Sovath poses for a picture during an interview in Siem Reap province, 2010.

 

These are images of inherent violence. The landscapes are desolate and barren, inhabited by the individuals caught up in the turmoil and chaos of Cambodia’s vision of progress. The mechanics of development are engulfing a previous way of life and replacing it with these empty spaces utterly dislocated from the people who now inhabit them.

The portraits are from the protagonists of our film; the activist, the mother and the multimedia monk, then the innocent bystanders and the workers who carry out their bosses orders.