About this talk
SEACHA is delighted to share that our next Cha-Time with SEACHA #30, “Culture and Climate Lens in Films,” will be hosted in collaboration with the Changing Climate Changing Lives Film Festival (CCCL). This Cha-Time will be held on Saturday, 25 May at 14:00 Bangkok time, and will feature an impressive panel of organizers and young filmmakers from CCCL.
This jointly hosted Cha-Time will feature a conversation about the ways film can act as a creative medium for climate action, and how films can visualize how lives, communities, nature, and cultures are being affected by climate change. CCCL Founder Mr. Christopher G. Moore and CCCL Team Leader Ms. Busakorn Suriyasarn will provide insights into CCCL Film Festival’s vision and mission to create a platform for climate storytelling, followed by Southeast Asian young filmmakers Mr. Afif Fahmi, Ms. Liza Nurholiza, Mr. Bryan Yong, and Ms. Prim Issaree Arunprasert to discuss their films which were selected for the CCCL Film Festival this year. Their films include The Swallowing Sea, the story of a man who returns to his childhood village after 11 years only to find it submerged in rob; Cordillera Songs, which depicts a community of the S’gaw Karen ethnic group in Chiang Rai as they cope with climate challenges while preserving the forest and their beliefs, and Regrow Our Home – Meet the Indigenous People Regrowing a Rainforest in Malaysia. Together, this talented panel will reflect on their journeys in telling stories about climate change and culture across Southeast Asia through film.
Speaker & Roundtable:
Speaker: Christopher G Moore
In 2019, Christopher conceived an idea of a film festival as a platform for youth to tell stories and voice their views about climate change, with short films as a bridge to connect art with science and to engage the public. Christopher together with his friends from various walks of lives—artists, scientists and journalists—who share the common concern about the climate crisis, formed an advisory board for the Changing Climate Changing Lives (CCCL) Film Festival.
Christopher G. Moore is a former law professor at University of British Columbia and a novelist who has resided in Thailand over the past 30 years. He has authored more than 30 fiction and non-fiction books, including the award-winning Vincent Calvino series. He serves as chairman of CCCL Advisory Board. The CCCL project is his way of giving back to Thailand for the privilege of giving him a home for the last 30 years.
Speaker: Busakorn Suriyasarn
Busakorn has served on the CCCL Advisor Board since its inception in 2019. She has over 20 years of experience in international development as consultant and advisor in a number of UN projects in Asia with expertise in gender equality and social inclusion, climate change, and rights protection for vulnerable populations, especially children and migrant workers. She holds a doctorate in Mass Communications and master’s degrees in Telecommunications and Southeast Asian Studies from Ohio University, USA. She is currently the team leader of CCCL Film Festival.
Speaker: Afif Fahmi
Afif Fahmi is a filmmaker who graduated from the Indonesia Institute of The Arts Yogyakarta. Many of his films tell stories about the relationship between humans and nature. His film Sampun Jawah competed at the 2018 Sjón International Anthropological Film Festival (Denmark) and was nominated (Best College Film) at the 2019 Strasburg Film Festival (USA). Human vs Elephant won the Best Film Award at the 2020 Denpasar Documentary Film Festival 2020, the Best Documentary Award at Bandung Independent Film Festival 2021, and the Gaia Award at the Bozcaada International Festival of Ecological Documentary 2021. His latest short fiction film The Swallowing Sea premiered at Jogja-Netpac Asian 18th Film Festival 2023 and won theJury Award Non-Documentary) at the CCCL Film Festival (Thailand) in 2024.
Speaker: Lisa Nurholiza
Lisa studied film studies. She is a producer of The Swallowing Sea, and is an ailurophile.
Speaker: Prim Issaree Arunprasert
Issaree is a producer and art director. She studied film production at Vancouver Film School, and film and digital media at KMITL, Thailand. In Vancouver and in Thailand, Issaree had opportunities to work on many shorts, music videos, documentaries, and TV commercials. Her latest short documentary Cordillera Songs won the Jury Prize (Documentary) at CCCL Film Festival 2024. Issaree is also a photographer. She loves telling stories with a series of photographs. Photography has taught her creativity, imagination, flexibility and patience, and given her the artistic foundation for her film career. Currently, Issaree lives in Bangkok, Thailand and works as a producer at The Headliners Bangkok.
Speaker: Bryan Yong
Bryan Yong is a freelance environmental journalist from Malaysia, and a master’s degree candidate in oceanography. His short documentary Regrow Our Home was an official selection at CCCL FIlm Festival 2024.Brian co-founded an environmental media project, EcoCupid, and a media company, Deep Doc Media Co., Ltd. Through these initiatives, Bryan is honing his skills in environmental advocacy and media communications, aiming to fill the niche demand for environmental communications in Southeast Asia. When not working, he likes to travel to less-trodden places and try all kinds of local foods.
Moderator: Ms Amanda Ong
Amanda Ong is an international programme officer at The Siam Society Under Royal Patronage under a fellowship from Princeton in Asia. There, she works closely with the SEACHA board as a representative of The Siam Society. She grew up in the United States and attended Columbia University for her undergraduate degree and the University of Washington for a MA in Museum Studies.
