The Bamboo Bridge World Premiere

The Bamboo Bridge

On October 22, The Bamboo Bridge, had its world premiere screening at the Antenna Documentary Film Festival in Sydney, and was awarded a Special Mention in the category of Best Australian Documentary.

The film was directed by Juan Francisco Salazar, Katherine Gibson was Executive Producer, and Isaac Lyne was Location Producer and conducted much of the background research.

Every dry season, a 1.5km bamboo bridge is built across the Mekong River in Cambodia and then dismantled after the monsoonal tides, but in 2017 the bamboo bridge was built for the last time, when a massive new government-funded concrete bridge was inaugurated.

The 65-minute film documents the final building of the bamboo bridge and engages with three generations of bridge builders who share stories of this unique sustainable infrastructure and the diverse community economies it sustained.

Focusing on the last master builder, Mr Oun, the film explores the intricacies of traditional forms of sustainable living.

The river, the monsoon, the cycles of bamboo and the bridge all tell an urgent and ancient story. Are we listening?

For more information contact Katherine Gibson, K.Gibson@westernsydney.edu.au.