Film
Enemies of the People
Enemies of the People is a 2009 documentary by Thet Sambath and Rob Lemkin in which former Khmer Rouge leaders and cadres speak about the killing fields.[1][2] It won the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Prize at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.[2]
Synopsis
Thet Sambath, a Cambodian investigative journalist, lost his mother, father and brother under the Khmer Rouge.[1][3] Over ten years he sought confessions and explanations from former officials and cadres, and he asked why his family died rather than how.[1][3] POV puts the number killed in the Khmer Rouge massacres of the late 1970s at nearly two million.[2]
The film centers on Nuon Chea, Pol Pot's deputy, known as Brother Number Two.[2][4] Sambath spent several years recording his thoughts and confessions.[4] The film also records former foot soldiers, including Khoun and Suon, who describe the killings they carried out.[2][4] Their testimony is set against the rice paddies, banyan trees and farm paths where the killings took place.[4] The film also shows encounters between former perpetrators and Cambodian survivors living in the United States.[1]
Production and credits
Sambath and Lemkin wrote, directed and produced the film, and Sambath narrated it.[1][4] Both directors are credited with cinematography.[1] Stefan Ronowicz edited the film, and Daniel Pemberton composed the score.[1][3] Old Street Films produced it, in association with American Documentary and POV, and it was co-presented with the Center for Asian American Media.[5][2] It is a British and Cambodian production in English and Khmer.[5]
Release and reception
The world premiere took place at the 2009 International Documentary Festival of Amsterdam, and the film was altered slightly for its Sundance premiere in 2010.[1] It went on to more than 80 festivals, among them True/False, Full Frame, Hong Kong and the Human Rights Watch Film Festival in New York.[1][3] It was featured in the 2010 Grierson British Documentary Awards.[5]
The film had theatrical releases in Great Britain, Thailand and the former Yugoslavia, and it was the first Cambodian film released in Thailand in 40 years.[1] In the United States, International Film Circuit gave it a theatrical release in more than 40 cities.[1] IMDb dates the start of that release to July 30, 2010; Wikipedia gives July 31, 2011.[1][5] Its United States television premiere aired on PBS's POV series on July 12, 2011.[1] In April 2014, it was shown at Harvard's Carpenter Center.[4]
Watch
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 Wikipedia, Enemies of the People (film)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 PBS POV, Enemies of the People
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 DAFilms, Enemies of the People
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Harvard Gazette, Deep into a bloody history (April 18, 2014)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 IMDb, Enemies of the People (2009)