Kep, Cambodia – December 2025. The announcement of the winners of the II Namuncurá Short Film Festival for Asian Indigenous Young People has become more than a celebration of cinema. For Don Bosco Cambodia, it is a sign of its mission: to stand with young rural and Indigenous peoples, offering them tools of communication and creativity to tell their own stories.

A platform for Indigenous youth

The festival, hosted with the support of ROOTS Asia and the EAO Salesian Region of Social Communication, highlighted films from Cambodia, Timor Leste, India, and Papua New Guinea. The winning works—The Three Temples by Cambodian filmmaker Rith Soton, The Weaving of Identity by Dersiana da Cruz of Timor Leste, and Ri Shongkun Shongnia by Indian director Khraw Kupar Kharrsyntiew—reflect the richness of Indigenous cultures and the resilience of their communities.

Special mentions went to Hope for Madang Lagoon by Dominic Pieng Jnr. (Papua New Guinea) and Ceferino Namuncurá – Documentary by Rochom Lvan (Cambodia), both works that embody the spirit of hope in ancestral territories.

Anchored in Hope

The Rector Major’s Strenna 2025, Anchored in Hope, resonates strongly with this initiative. Don Bosco Cambodia, through its technical school in Kep, has become a center where hope is not abstract but lived—through education, training, and the empowerment of Indigenous youth.

This message of hope also connects with the jubilee proclaimed by Pope Francis, who reminded the Indigenous Peoples’ Forum of IFAD that ancestral knowledge enriches the whole human family. The festival embodies this call, giving visibility to cultures often marginalized and affirming their role in shaping a more just and inclusive future.

Building a synodal community

Fr. Samnang Albeiro Rodas, SDB, director of Don Bosco Kep, emphasized that the next edition of the festival will be linked to the II Media Communication Seminar for Asian Indigenous Leaders, scheduled for February 2026. The seminar will focus on film and documentary production, enabling Indigenous leaders to strengthen their skills in promoting their languages, cultures, and territories.

“This is not only about films,” Fr. Rodas said. “It is about building a synodal community where Indigenous voices are heard, valued, and anchored in hope.”

A mission beyond borders

Supported by the Salesian Delegation of Cambodia, the Don Bosco Green Alliance, and international partners, Don Bosco Kep continues to serve as a hub for rural and Indigenous youth. By linking education with communication, the institution embodies the Salesian mission in Asia: to empower the marginalized and to anchor hope in the everyday lives of young people.

As the year closes, the II Namuncurá Festival reminds us that hope is not only a theme—it is a practice. Through the voices of Indigenous youth, Don Bosco Cambodia and the Salesian family in Asia reaffirm their commitment to a mission that is both local and universal, rooted in ancestral wisdom and open to the future.