CIFF 360 in Kep: Antoine Raab, "Authentic photography remains irreplaceable"

Photographer based in Phnom Penh for more than ten years, Antoine Raab presented last night a slideshow of his portraits made for the Cambodia International Film Festival on the occasion of CIFF 360, the festival’s decentralized edition which is setting up for the second time in Kep. Portrait of an artist who navigates lucidly through a sector in deep transformation.

Antoine Raab

It was in the lively atmosphere of Kep West that the CIFF chose to open this traveling edition of its festival. Among the guests at the opening night, Antoine Raab — a loyal collaborator of the festival since 2022 — came to screen, for the first time, a slideshow compiling his portraits of the CIFF’s faces: actors, directors, producers, technicians.

These images, captured behind the scenes and in the gaps between screenings, form an intimate chronicle of the event. It was an opportunity to speak with him about his background and about the upheavals that are shaking the profession today.

You have been collaborating with CIFF since 2022. How did this partnership begin?

I was the one who proposed the idea in 2022. I wanted to create a series of portraits of the people orbiting the festival — not only actors or directors, but also producers, technicians, everyone who brings the event to life behind the scenes.

The idea was to offer a gallery somewhat in the manner of the backstage, with a relaxed atmosphere, a perspective that moves away from the red carpet.

I call this series “Cinematic Faces” — it stays within the world of cinema, but seeks to reveal its human and photographic dimension. The first year, Cédric really liked the result, and we naturally continued the following year.

This slideshow presented tonight in Kep, what does it represent for you?

It is a synthesis of several years of work, so I inevitably pared down a lot — it wasn’t easy. But it’s also a way to support the festival differently, to bring a small separate touch that doesn’t really belong to the official program but enriches it.

And presenting these images here in Kep, in this setting, is special. There is something more intimate, more composed than in Phnom Penh.

Sliedeshow

Outside of CIFF, how is your activity doing?

I mainly work in portraiture and reportage for international magazines and private clients. This year I celebrate ten years of collaboration with UNICEF, which I am proud of.

But let’s be honest: the market is getting tougher. The number of commissions has noticeably decreased in recent years. I attribute it to a difficult economic situation in Cambodia, but also — and this is more structural — to the rise of artificial intelligence.

AI, precisely — do you see it as a direct threat to professional photographers?

It’s a gentle but deep revolution. What disappears first is the commercial market: advertising, heavily retouched visuals, everything that used to require mobilizing a large team and a sizable budget.

Today, a client can obtain images of acceptable quality, commercially usable, in a few hours of work on an AI tool — for a fraction of the cost.

Those small commercial jobs, added up, were what allowed us to get through the year between two major assignments. That safety net is seriously shrinking.

Are there areas AI cannot threaten?

Photojournalism, for the moment, holds strong — and that’s good news. AI is largely banned there by newsrooms, and rightly so: you simply cannot be credible pretending to do reportage with generative AI. People would not accept it.

There remains a clear boundary between the constructed image and the witnessed image. It is in that space that authentic photography remains irreplaceable.

What do you think of CIFF’s gamble to relocate to Kep for this edition?

I love the idea. A festival needs to renew itself, to reach audiences beyond those of the capital. Leaving Phnom Penh also frees you from certain logistical constraints and routines. Here in Kep, between the Knai Ban Chak, the Sailing Club and the crab market, the atmosphere is different — more relaxed, more conducive to encounters. And it is by trying initiatives like this that new ideas are found, that you give the project new breath. As long as the logistics and funding follow, it’s a very good decision.