Bombhunters is a 2006

2006 in film

- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2006...

 documentary film

Documentary film

Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...

 produced and directed by Skye Fitzgerald, that documents the effects of unexploded ordnance

Unexploded ordnance

Unexploded ordnance are explosive weapons that did not explode when they were employed and still pose a risk of detonation, potentially many decades after they were used or discarded.While "UXO" is widely and informally used, munitions and explosives of...

 on Cambodian people, both within their homeland and in the US.

Funding

Including a Fulbright Scholarship, the project was funded by the Sundance Institute

Sundance Institute

Sundance Institute is a non-profit organization founded by Robert Redford in 1981 that actively advances the work of filmmakers and storytellers worldwide...

 and the United States Institute of Peace

United States Institute of Peace

The United States Institute of Peace was created by Congress as a non-partisan, federal institution that works to prevent or end violent conflict around the world...

, including grants from The Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement in the U.S. Department of States Bureau of Political-Military Affairs

Bureau of Political-Military Affairs

The Bureau of Political-Military Affairs is an agency within the United States Department of State that bridges the Department of State with the Department of Defense. It provides policy in the areas of international security, security assistance, military operations, defense strategy and policy,...

.

Filming

Based upon his 2001 trip to Cambodia

Cambodia

Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...

, Skye Fitzgerald, a graduate of Eastern Oregon University

Eastern Oregon University

Eastern Oregon University is one of seven state-funded, four-year universities of higher education in the State of Oregon and belongs to the Oregon University System...

, spent 6 months in Cambodia

Cambodia

Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...

 and Vietnam

Vietnam

Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

 creating the documentary Bombhunters.

Music

Music was used from the popular Canadian post-rock band Godspeed You! Black Emperor

Godspeed You! Black Emperor

Godspeed You! Black Emperor is a Canadian post-rock band which originated from Montreal, Quebec in 1994...

. The band allowed songs from Yanqui U.X.O.

Yanqui U.X.O.

U.X.O. is the third studio album by the Canadian post-rock band Godspeed You! Black Emperor. It was produced and recorded by musician Steve Albini at the Electrical Audio in Chicago, Illinois in late 2001...

to be used, stating that while they didn't normally allow their music to be used in films, they could align with the social nature of the film.

Purpose

This film project documents the effects of UXO* on Cambodian people, both within their homeland and in the US. In particular, Bombhunters documents villagers efforts throughout rural Cambodia as they seek out UXO and attempt to render it safe for sale to the scrap metal industry in order to survive.

Release

When the film had its premiere in November 2005 in Portland Oregon. This film has been showcased in many film festivals across the globe including; Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival

Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival

The Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival began as a cooperative effort between the Southern Film Alliance and a small group of Hot Springs volunteers in 1992. Academy Award nominated films were shown free of charge to the public in the Historic District of Hot Springs...

, Rhode Island International Film Festival

Rhode Island International Film Festival

Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival takes place every year in Providence and Newport, Rhode Island as well as satellite locations throughout the state. Started in 1997, the Festival is produced by Flickers, the Newport Film/Video Society & Arts Collaborative, a 501 non-profit...

, Palm Beach International Film Festival

Palm Beach International Film Festival

The Palm Beach International Film Festival is a film festival in the United States held in Palm Beach, Florida which showcases over 120 films annually in April for over 20,000 attendees...

, Planet in Focus

Planet in Focus

Planet in Focus is an International Environmental Film and Video festival based in Toronto, Canada.- History :Planet in Focus is an incorporated not-for-profit organization founded in 1999 by Festival Director Mark Haslam. They are affiliated with the Planet in Focus Foundation, a registered...

 Environmental Film Festival, Seattle Human Rights Film Festival, and Northwest Film & Video Festival.

In addition to broadcast on US public television the film has aired on the History Channel Asia, Free Speech television in the US and on select national channels in Europe, including national broadcast on TV2 in Sweden.

Response

Since completion, the film has been credited by the US Department of State with influencing national legislation in Cambodia that has led to a 50% drop in UXO tampering casualties.

External links

• Bombhunters at the Internet Movie Database
  Internet Movie Database
  Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
  
  
• Official website
• Film trailer