WHY I WRITE just received the well deserved prize for the Best Poem Performance on Film at the Zebra Poetry Film Festival 2012.
Kosal Khiev, featured in a movie by Masahiro Sugano, gave an impressive live performance at the award ceremony. A true highlight of this year´s Zebra.
WHY I WRITE is the first episode in a series of spoken word videos by Khmer American exile Khiev Kosal in collaboration with Studio Revolt. Kosal, a poet and tattoo artist resides in Phnom Penh after spending 14 years of his life in a U.S. prison. Kosal tells pieces of his story through the art of spoken word poetry. His poetry is ripped from his guts and excavated from a place between confinement and freedom. Raw and unassuming, his performance makes walls disappear leaving room only for emotions. This spoken word video is an act for Kosal to reclaim his place in the world as a free man, a step that begins in Cambodia not America.
Director/Cinematographer/Editor: Masahiro Sugano
Artist: Kosal Khiev
Producer: Anida Yoeu Ali
Production Coordinator: Thea Som