The Don Bosco Technical School, together with the Salesian Delegation of Cambodia’s Social Communication Team and ROOTS: Catholic Network of Indigenous Peoples of Asia, has launched the Second Namuncurá Short Film Festival 2025, focusing on Indigenous youth and their stories.
“The Namuncurá Short Film Festival for Indigenous young people of Asia is dedicated this year to the topic ‘anchored in hope with our ancestral territories,’” said Fr. Albeiro Rodas, rector of Don Bosco Technical School in Kep.
He explained that the initiative seeks to connect the Jubilee Year with the core of Indigenous life. “It is a way to link the Jubilee Year with the most essential bases of the Indigenous communities, that is, the preservation of the territories, the land, and Mother Earth.”
Fr. Rodas underscored that Indigenous territories go beyond geography. “Indigenous territories are not only about a physical space, but it is everything dear to the very existence of the community,” he said, adding that it is “the place where ancestors keep their memory, the spirits of Mother Earth reside, and the community survives, thrives.”
“For this reason, the Indigenous territories mean the main anchor of hope for the communities,” Fr. Rodas stressed. He said the film festival provides a meaningful venue for young people to tell their stories: “Through a film festival, where Indigenous youth are involved as producers, we consider it a privileged space to raise awareness.”
The festival, themed “Anchored in Hope on Our Indigenous Territories,” invites Indigenous youth across Asia to submit short films between 5 and 15 minutes.
Registration runs until September 20, and video submissions will be accepted from October 20 to 24. The event will be streamed online from November 10 to 12, with winners announced on December 7.
Prizes include a camera, a laptop, and a tablet for the top three entries. Submissions must include English subtitles and be sent to the festival’s official email.
