Film
Broken Courage
Broken Courage is a documentary by David Peck and Nathanael Draper about Suon Rottana, a Cambodian landmine survivor seeking redemption.[1][2] Its themes are memory, history and reconciliation.[2]
Synopsis
Suon Rottana was a teenage Khmer Rouge rebel, then a soldier in the Cambodian army and a prisoner of war.[2] He lost a limb when he stepped on a landmine.[3] In the film he works as a tour guide at war memorial museums near Angkor Wat in Siem Reap.[4] Still marked by his past, he shares his story and uses it to connect with others and help heal old wounds.[4] The film follows his search for redemption and reconciliation, and it shows how linked personal stories can help people heal from trauma.[2][4]
Melissa Fox, Chum Mey, Suon Rottana and Dork Silong are listed in the top cast. The film was shot in Cambodia.[2]
Release
The film was scheduled at the French Institute on June 29, 2022, during the 11th Cambodia International Film Festival.[5] It screened in Barcelona on December 5, 2024, and opened the 2025 Toronto International Nollywood Film Festival.[3][4] The Cambodia Town Film Festival showed it on September 12, 2026, in "The Stories We Told" and closing ceremony program at the Art Theatre in Long Beach.[1][6] Julia Huynh moderated the question-and-answer session.[1]
The 2026 festival program gives a runtime of 75 minutes, while IMDb and the Barcelona festival give 110 minutes.[1][2][3] IMDb dates the film to 2022 and the Barcelona festival to 2020.[2][3] The Toronto festival calls it a Canadian film, and the Barcelona festival calls it Cambodian.[4][3]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Cambodia Town Film Festival, 2026 program book (PDF)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 IMDb, Broken Courage (2022)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Asian Film Festival Barcelona, Orient Express: Casa Asia in Betevé, October to November 2024
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Toronto International Nollywood Film Festival, TINFF 2025
- ↑ Asian Film Festivals, 15 Films you shouldn't miss at the 11th Cambodia International Film Festival (June 26, 2022)
- ↑ Art Theatre Long Beach, Cambodia Town Film Festival: The Stories We Told