Alessio Schmidt

I’m a documentary cinematographer and director with a focus on creating character-driven and investigative documentaries that shed light on important human rights and environmental issues within the Southeast-Asian region.

My latest film “The Clearing” follows a group of young environmentalists in Cambodia as they prepare to face imprisonment for their advocacy work. I’ve also worked on a range of investigations, from exposing the connections between major fashion labels and deforestation, all the way to documenting illicit fishing off the Cambodian coast. 

Over the last seven years in Asia, I’ve worked on documentaries for the BBC, CBS, South China Morning Post, American Broadcast Company, Insider, and Mongabay and my stills have also been published by The New York Times, dpa, and Coda Story.  I often collaborate with non-profit organizations too, including Human Rights Watch, Global Witness, Equitable Cambodia, and Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust.

Lucky enough to call Cambodia my home for the past five years, I am not only based here, but also open to traveling both regionally and worldwide for assignments. I speak Khmer comfortably and have years of experience shooting in remote environments.

I am also a recipient of the Pulitzer Center and a member of Ruom Collective.

My full portfolio is available at ****