During one of my journeys of 2014, I decided to shoot a documentary film. The idea came to my mind quite unexpectedly when I realised that apart from taking photos of the visited placed I could also gather some footage. I did not prepare anything in advance; I had neither a script, plan nor any decent equipment. Besides, I did not want to spend too much time on the project as the idea was purely experimental to me. I used GoPro Hero 3 camera to film almost every place that I reached. I did not apply any additional lighting or support - these were all handheld shots without even knowing what was in the frame - this small camera does not have any preview available!
Therefore, the material had been gathered "blindly" and only after I returned home I knew if it was of any use. Thanks to my friends' help who are professional editors and the support of an excellent voice-over, we managed to produce a unique film - experimental documentary in which no direction, filming the existing sets, no double takes and a simple recording device make the final result challenging.
Was it successful? I think so, since despite technical imperfections (it is not about aesthetics, is it?), this type of documentary has been appreciated in several film festivals and the film itself has been the main award winner.
The film shows the culture and everyday life of residents of Southeast Asia as well as the factors that join and divide the countries of far Indochina.
In 2016, the English version of the film won three platinum awards in the Filmmakers World Festival in Indonesia: for debut, direction and in the international documentaries category.
In the same year, "Eastern Indochina" was also shown in FiLUMS Festival in Pakistan and was officially selected for presentation in the Australian festival, INDIE hype, organised in Sydney, Armenian Golden Urartu, and Indie Wise virtual film festival.