Cambodian Textiles

 When Kikuo Morimoto (68), a kimono artisan from Kyoto arrived in Cambodia after the Cambodian civil war, the culture of weaving traditional Cambodian textiles was on the verge of extinction. Morimoto reclaimed idle, deforested land and created a village community sustained almost entirely by the traditional dyeing and weaving of Cambodian textiles. His efforts led to a renaissance in Cambodian traditional textile culture and set an example for combining a self-sustaining village and the revival of traditional culture, an example that has been widely lauded as an antithesis to modern civilization.

 However, several years ago, Morimoto was diagnosed with terminal cancer: he has only years, maybe months to live. Consciously, he is approaching the end of his life. Strands of memories from exploring the frontiers of Japan and Indochina flowing through his mind emerge into consciousness. The imagery created from interweaving these strands from Morimoto’s memories with life in his textile-weaving village reveals Morimoto’s innermost feelings. Cambodian Textiles is a documentary film that follows both Morimoto, the terminally ill patient, and life in his textile-weaving village for over two years.