Cambodian Textiles

　The present film centers around the theme of Cambodian tie-dyed and hand-woven textiles. Threads spat by silkworms are tied with strips of banana leaves to be dyed with natural colors. Weaving the resulting yarn on handlooms produces beautiful textiles in the Cambodian tradition. Each cloth is a living piece inhabited by the unique aura and rhythm of the artisan’s life. The cloth’s uneven texture reflects this ‘noise’ of life - far removed from the evenness of mass-produced silk yarn.
The film is set in the “Forest of Tradition” visited by over 1,500 visitors every year. Most are from developed countries: Japan, Europe, and the United States. What draws them to the village is not just nostalgia for pre-modern life or the desire to pay homage to nature. Is it the natural unevenness of the silk, the ‘noise’ that is like a metaphor for the ‘noise’ in human life? Or is it a certain longing for the communal atmosphere in which villagers help one another as if they formed a single large family? Most likely, the fascination the village exerts cannot be explained purely through a priori reasoning: the fascination is manifest in the village itself. Visitors can feel it with all five of their senses. If confronted with the question ‘What actually attracted you to visit this village?’, visitors struggle to articulate their feelings in words. But the process of seeking an adequate expression is where the attraction lies. Just like the documentary filmmaker, who, fascinated by the filmed subject, moves his camera seeking to give form to his feelings through the language of cinematography. This film provides the audience with an opportunity to follow the eyes of the director, who is himself captivated by the village. I bring you this film from a village far away in Cambodia, but it illuminates where we stand and makes us look at our own world with a critical eye.