BEGIN:VCALENDAR PRODID:-//eluceo/ical//2.0/EN VERSION:2.0 CALSCALE:GREGORIAN BEGIN:VEVENT UID:ded0c3111648dbbde1fdcc4308e2755b DTSTAMP:20261012T055205Z SUMMARY:Cambodia’s Microfinance Crisis DESCRIPTION:Contact: ning.ao@ace.lu.se\n\nDebt Inc. is an investigative doc umentary examining the role of international and European financial instit utions in Cambodia’s microfinance crisis.Investigative journalist Claire Stam traces the human cost of Cambodia’s booming microfinance sector an d the international money that helped fuel its expansion. With a loan port folio equivalent to roughly 30% of the country’s GDP\, the sector has be en linked to widespread over-indebtedness\, coerced land sales and other h uman rights abuses. More than 167\,000 Cambodian households have sold land to repay microloans\, alongside documented cases of food insecurity\, chi ld labour and debt-related suicides.The film follows the financial chain f rom Cambodian borrowers to the institutions and investors backing the sect or\, combining stories from affected families with interviews with human r ights representatives from FIAN Germany and OECD Watch\, leading academics Dr. Frank Bliss and Dr. Milford Bateman\, journalists Jack Brook and Gerh ard Klas\, and Oikocredit CEO Mirjam ’t Lam.By bringing together the exp eriences of borrowers with the perspectives of those financing and scrutin ising the system\, Debt Inc. asks a central question: who is accountable w hen investments made in the name of development contribute to harm?Please register here for the event \; \; \;Thomas CristofolettiThomas Cristofoletti is an award-winning documentary director\, cinematographer\ , and photographer based in Bangkok\, Thailand. Originally from the Italia n Alps\, he has worked across Southeast Asia since 2012 and in more than 3 0 countries worldwide\, directing and shooting medium- and long-form docum entaries and visual stories for international broadcasters\, media outlets \, and development organisations.His work focuses on human-centred stories at the intersection of climate change\, development\, and human rights\, with a particular interest in investigative and environmental storytelling . He has a long-standing connection to the Mekong region\, where much of h is work has explored the social and environmental consequences of rapid de velopment.Thomas has directed and shot documentaries for international bro adcasters and media organisations including the BBC\, Bloomberg\, Deutsche Welle\, Channel 4\, Channel News Asia\, and Mongabay. His photography and visual journalism have been published by The New York Times\, The Guardia n\, Der Spiegel\, and other international outlets\, while his films and ph otography have supported projects and campaigns by organisations including USAID\, WWF\, UNEP\, UNICEF\, and the Obama Foundation. \; \;Robi n NarcisoRobin Narciso is an award-winning filmmaker based in Phnom Penh\, Cambodia. Over the past decade\, he has specialized in documentaries expl oring humanitarian\, development\, and environmental issues.In 2020\, in c ollaboration with filmmaker Thomas Cristofoletti\, he co-produced The Last Breath of the Tonle Sap\, a documentary examining the impact of hydropowe r development and climate change on Cambodian fisherfolk. Originally publi shed by the South China Morning Post\, the film won the 2021 RWI Pacific A ward at the Minikino Film Festival in Bali and has garnered more than half a million views across social media platforms.In 2022\, as part of the Re fashion study\, he wrote and directed The Haul and The Wedding Ring\, two short fiction films exploring the impact of COVID-19 on Cambodia’s garme nt workers. These films were selected by the 2023 Cambodia International F ilm Festival and the 2023 Minikino Film Festival\, with The Wedding Ring w inning second place at the RWI Pacific Awards.More recently\, in 2024\, Na rciso co-directed Strangled with Thomas Cristofoletti\, a documentary inve stigating the human cost of Cambodia’s microfinance crisis and the role of European investors. The film won the SIMA 2025 Lens to Action Jury Priz e and was acquired for distribution by Deutsche Welle\, reaching over 800\ ,000 views on YouTube. \;This event is part of the Perspective Asia Le cture Series. \;\n\nMore information about the event: https://www.ace. lu.se/calendar/cambodias-microfinance-crisis DTSTART;TZID=GMT:20261026T120000 DTEND;TZID=GMT:20261026T140000 LOCATION:Zoom END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR