ANGKOR PHOTO FEST UPDATE

The Tenth Angkor Photo Festival is rapidly approaching and press releases are about to start flying. One of the first cabs off the rank, so to speak, is the McDermott Gallery Old Market which has issued a presser announcing it will hold two exhibitions as part of the festival and then the showings will continue through the high season.

The exhibitions will be curated by the festival’s program coordinator Françoise Callier, and will run simultaneously from November 29 until January 4 next year.

One of the exhibitions by Fan Ho is titled Hong Kong Yesterday and features photos taken in Hong Kong during the 1950s and ’60s, as the city emerged as a metropolis.

According to the press release, “Ho’s use of shadow and light are prevalent throughout this series, which includes striking images of hardworking construction men in the throes of a major development to a solitary figure battling through the misty rain.

We are invited into the lives of ‘coolies’ and hawkers and witness the daily theatrics of market life.”

As well as being a photographer, Fan Ho is also a luminary in the movie industry. He began as an actor but in 1963, aged 26, he directed his first short film.

Since then, films he has directed received awards in the International Film Festivals in Cannes, Berlin, and San Francisco, and they are now in permanent collections at the National Film Archives in Taiwan and Hong Kong.

The second exhibition features the work of Milan-based snapper Gabriele Croppi in a black and white series titled, Metaphysic of the Urban Landscape.

This exhibition was produced for the European Photo Exhibition Award, and won first prize in the competition’s architecture section.

According to the press release, “Croppi’s images often feature a single subject illuminated by an elegant slice of sunlight in front of a background filled with shadows and negative space.

“Taken in a host of various European cities, the images move seamlessly from Croppi’s own Milan to Hamburg, from Paris to London and from Oslo to Moscow. Each image portrays a highly recognisable landmark, using light and shadow to paint the scene with unexpected drama.”

Croppi, who was born in 1974, also works in film and he has won numerous international awards and has been included in several regional and worldwide exhibitions.

FUNDRAISING BONANZA AT CHARITY DINNER

Il Forno’s charity dinner in aid of Angkor Hospital for Children on Tuesday night raised almost $16,000, far exceeding the original goal of $7,000 to enable the hospital to buy two much-needed baby warmers for the neo-natal unit.

Tickets for the four-course meal with wines supplied by Celliers d’Asie sold out, and a lively auction hosted by Dean Williams saw generous bids being made by Siem Reapers.

Nicky Sullivan reports, “ More than $12,000 had already been raised, to the delight of the hosts and the hospital, but that number was dramatically upped when an anonymous donor stepped in and contributed the full cost of a new baby warmer, $3,500.

“Arun Sinketh, communications manager for the hospital, was thrilled with the outcome, and extends a special thank you to Il Forno, as well as to everyone who took part. ‘It was so much fun,’ she said, ‘especially the auction. I am so thankful for this event, and look forward to many more in the future’.”

SHORTS

The Belmond La Residence d’Angkor hotel’s Ember Restaurant held its inaugural Mexican cuisine evening late last month, and now the restaurant is doing it again. It’s holding another Mexican evening on November 28, serving the full menu featuring chef Saul’s magic, with accompanying choices of free-flow margaritas at $35net per person.