InZomia
A joint project by Philip Blenkinsop, Gary Knight, and Daniel Schwartz, launched in 2012
InZomia is an investigative documentary project on the last ungoverned people on earth. It looks at the dramatic and rapid transformation taking place amongst the fragile indigenous communities who populate the highlands of South and South East Asia.
The project seeks to document, with photography, film, the written word, oral histories, and GIS mapping, the current state of the cultures of the upland communities of the South East Asian Massif in Tibet, China, India, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam, and their rapid transformation. As roads, pipelines, and dams are constructed and lowland peoples encroach on their land, these highlanders are now living in closer proximity to their neighbors and are in danger of being completely assimilated into a globalizing culture. The next generation will likely see much of their rich legacy become a matter of history.
InZomia does not seek to pass judgment on whether this development is right or wrong, good or bad; that is for the affected communities to decide for themselves. The project teams will be working with local organizations to help build their capacity to document their own histories and narratives. The outcomes of the project will be broadcast and published, and through academic and cultural institutions will be made available to local communities, the general public, and scholars.
For further information and the full project dossier please go to:
www.garyknight.org/zomia
