[This film is the sequel to the film The Silk Chronicles: Warp]

At the Krama Yuyu weaving workshop located in Ta Pouk village near Siem Reap in Cambodia, Chenda Heng, master weaver and manager of the studio, and her sister Theary are preparing of what will become the weft of the fabric, that is, the threads crossing the warp which has already been set up on the loom. The weavers are following the Cambodian ikat technique. Each bundle of silk is tied and dyed on successful dye baths to create complex multicolored geometric patterns. The silk threads are then wound on spools. They will be passed on the loom on the black silk warp. The film tells this intricate process repeating several rounds of tying, dyeing, and drying.
Chenda and Theary learned the art of silk weaving from their mother in their teenage years. At the workshop, they often work as a tandem.

The Silk Chronicles is a film series in two parts. It was shot in July 2017 and documents the reclaimed practice of Cambodian weft ikat silk weaving. Showing what happens before weaving on the loom, The Silk Chronicles: Warp and Weft show all the preparatory steps before the actual weaving on the loom. Both films close at the same meeting point, when Chenda the master weaver starts assembling the two elements we have discovered in order to create lavish silk ikat textiles.

Short documentary film
Directed by Magali An Berthon
Edited by Remi Buono
duration 12:04
Ta Pouk, Cambodia
(2017)