Thomas Cristofoletti

From the 1980s to the early 2000s, microfinance loans to the world’s poor were heralded as a silver bullet for global poverty. While globally its effectiveness has been reevaluated since its inception, microfinance in Cambodia is still considered a tool for poverty alleviation. Born on the backbone of a wider research project from the Royal Holloway University of London and Nottingham University, Strangled challenges this narrative. The stories of the 3 Cambodian families in this film debunk the myth of microfinance as a tool that serves the poor. Instead, they portray a bleak scenario where microfinance lending has induced suicide, forced migration, and torn vulnerable families apart. Through the eyes of the protagonists and their intimate experiences, the film intends to present the struggle so many Cambodians face when dealing with microfinance indebtedness.

The Mekong River ecosystem is on the verge of collapse due to the accumulative effects of climate change. Hydropower dams, drought and human-made activities such as deforestation and sand mining have also caused water levels to drop to their lowest in more than 60 years. The Mekong flows for nearly 5,000km (3,100 miles) from Himalayan glaciers in Tibet, through China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Cambodia before reaching the South China Sea in Vietnam. “Together, climate impact and dam restrictions are changing the way that the Mekong flows - much for the worse", says Brian Eyler who runs the Mekong Dam Monitor at the Stimson Center in Washington DC.

Karmila Purba takes a lot of flack for her choice of profession. She rides a modified motorbike around the sides of a Tong Setan – or “Satan's barrel” – what Indonesians call the carnival attraction commonly known as the "Wall of Death." While critics accuse her of not being a "good woman" for working in the male-dominated carnival world, others applaud her for breaking stereotypes in the conservative country. Purba’s loyal followers have even given her a nickname – "Princess of the Tong Setan".

“Seat at the Table” aims to paint a truly global picture of the climate emergency facing our world. Jack Harries, 28, filmmaker and activist, has talked with farmers and firefighters, inventors and activists. People whose voices need to be heard at the COP26’s global climate conference. I shot one of the story of episode one, the story of Chhum Shim (min 5.00), a Cambodian rice farmer impacted by weather patterns altered by climate change. To pay back the loan she took out for her farm, she and her family left their home in the countryside to work in a brick kiln in the capital. She, like many others, is a climate migrant.

“Incredible Edibles” is a show about the world’s most incredible people, making the world’s most incredible edibles. In these pilot episodes, we follow producer and host Vanessa Lavorato on her journey through Thailand to meet local cannabis legends, discover local entrepreneurs and learn how to cook their favorite food.

Fisherman Piseth and his family live on the edge of the Tonle Sap Lake and they’re experiencing first-hand the consequences of climate change and the construction of the hydroelectric dams on the Mekong. Fish stocks have plummeted and the family is becoming increasingly worried about how they are going to feed themselves.