The Bophana Center is an audiovisual center located in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The center is dedicated to restoring, protecting and enhancing the Cambodian audiovisual heritage.
The Bophana Center was co-founded in late 2006 by leu Pannakar and Cambodian-French filmmaker Rithy Panh. Rithy Panh has been critically acclaimed for his work. Most recently, he received the top prize of the "Un certain regard " competition at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival for his documentary The Missing Picture.
The Bophana Center strives to give free public access to thousands of archives documents on Cambodia. To achieve this mission, the Archives Department lies at the heart of the center’s action. The Bophana Center starts providing intensive training sessions for archivists; organizing and indexing the archives; dubbing movies in Khmer; developing the Hanuman research database; and organizing cultural activities on film and audiovisual heritage. In addition, the center opens to new audiences by organizing screenings throughout the country; and by welcoming Cambodian artists and academic partners as part of the “Memory, Archive, and Creation” project. The center then also becomes a member of the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF) and engages in South-South cooperation with Burkina Faso.
In 2009, visitors to the Bophana Center increase significantly whilst the center offers more and more activities. Exhibitions are organized as well as concerts, art workshops, conferences, and educational workshops. The Cambodian team is well trained by then and takes over part of the center’s management. Thanks to skillful technicians, the Bophana Center is able to produce the Forgotten Songs CD and two movies. One of them is nominated at the International Festival of Audiovisual Programs (FIPA). Results are encouraging and lay the foundation for a financial empowerment strategy by sending the Bophana Center’s technicians and equipment to professional film crews. This simple idea is likely to generate funds. The Bophana Center also expands its missions and is now able to welcome and support international film directors who come to shoot movies in Cambodia. The Center therefore plays a key role in the establishment of the Cambodian Film Commission, inaugurated on July 16, 2009, with the support of the the French Development Agency (AFD) and Cambodia’s Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts.