Reflection on Kalyanee Mam

Renowned filmmaker Kalyanee Mam came to Poly to speak of her amazing film “Lost World.” Mam’s presentation was much more interactive than other events. She began by asking the audience how we defined “home” as well as its meaning to us. Personally, home is intangible, it is the warm, comforting feeling that encompasses me when I am around my family and friends. Transitioning from our own definitions of home, Mam made me realize that I take the land that I live on for granted through her film “Lost World.” This captivating documentary followed a young Cambodian woman whose lifestyle is dependent on the mangrove forests that surround her home. This film exposes how the companies, supported by the Cambodian government, dredge the waters for sand and reveals the effects of a person’s greed. The young Cambodian woman explained her love for the land that she lives on and how their entire way of life is being destroyed as more sand is being exported. We watched as she traveled to Singapore observing how the sand that was once her home had been transformed into manmade islands and botanical gardens. While taking in the beauty of the botanical gardens the young women noted that while destroying a permanent home and forest the Singaporean government created a temporary landmark. While here in America, we associate the word home with the people around us and we take for granted the very land that we live on, but Cambodian people identified their land as what made them feel at home. Mam shared her own story of leaving behind a home to start anew as her family had to escape from the Kmer Rouge to the United States. She explained the confusion she faced as she grew up in a new environment that she was unfamiliar with. It was such an honor to be able to listen and hear from Kalyanee Mam, who uses her films as a form of activism.