Photo Phnom Penh Festival 2025

Photo Phnom Penh is an influential photography festival in Southeast Asia, hosted by the non‑profit Photo Phnom Penh Association (PPPA), which was founded to foster technical skills, artistic exchange, and youth empowerment.

Overview

It has been 16 years since Photo Phnom Penh was born on the initiative of Alain Arnaudet, then director of the French Cultural Center. A festival which had the dual ambition of establishing exchanges between European and Asian artists and fostering the emergence of a new generation of photographers, in a small country still reeling from the murderous madness of the Khmer Rouge regime, the Deal.

The 16th edition will run from 19 November to 19 December 2025, centered in Phnom Penh, with exhibitions across key cultural venues including the Institut Français, the National Museum, the Bophana Center, Sra’Art Gallery, and Factory Phnom Penh. The festival emphasizes cross‑regional dialogue, bringing together European and Asian photographers to explore how photography shapes memory, identity, and the future.

This edition features both historical and contemporary works by artists such as Letizia Le Fur, Micheline Dullin, Laurence Bonvin, Thanh Hue, Kim Hak, Khiev Kanel, Khun Vannak, Sovan Philong, and Florent Meng Lechevallier. In addition to exhibitions, the program includes screenings, portfolio reviews, talks, workshops, and a signature Photo Is Your Memory initiative that offers free scanning, restoration, and printing of attendees’ personal photographs. Through its blend of community engagement, archival investigation, and creative experimentation, Photo Phnom Penh continues to be a platform for exploring photography’s role in social transformation.