Film
The Killing Fields of Dr. Haing S. Ngor
The Killing Fields of Dr. Haing S. Ngor is a 2015 documentary by Arthur Dong about the life, advocacy and murder of Cambodian actor and survivor Haing S. Ngor.[1][2] Ngor won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for The Killing Fields.[3]
Synopsis
The film follows Ngor's life in order, from his birth in 1940 to his murder in 1996.[1] It opens with Sophia Ngor and family friend Jack Ong going through his belongings in a basement on Long Island.[3] Ngor was a Chinese-Cambodian doctor whom the Khmer Rouge forced into labor camps, and he survived four years in them.[4][3] The film covers Khmer Rouge rule from 1975 to 1979 and states that about two million Cambodians died in those years from starvation, forced labor, torture and execution.[3] Later he was asked to recreate his experiences on screen, and the role took him to Hollywood.[4] The Killing Fields (1984) serves as the starting point for a wider account of Cambodian history and of his life.[3]
Ngor used his public profile to draw world attention to Cambodia's devastation.[3] He founded an orphanage in Phnom Penh, built a schoolhouse in his home village and brought aid to refugee camps.[3] He also campaigned for a Khmer Rouge tribunal to bring war criminals to justice.[1] About 20 years after his escape from the Khmer Rouge, he was shot dead in an alley in Los Angeles's Chinatown.[4][3] The film notes that his murder remains the subject of conspiracy theories.[2] At a tribunal session in 2009, Duch, the former head of the Tuol Sleng prison, claimed that Ngor was killed because he appeared in The Killing Fields.[1] The film also follows Ngor's legacy at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal in 2012 and with the lasting effects of Cambodia's history, including poverty, corruption and the impunity of former Khmer Rouge leaders.[1][3]
Production and credits
Arthur Dong directed, wrote, produced and edited the documentary, and Mark Adler composed the music.[5] It draws in part on Ngor's autobiography, Survival in the Killing Fields, written with Roger Warner.[3] Wayne Ngor, his nephew and himself a survivor of the Cambodian work camps, narrates in Ngor's voice.[3] The film combines archival footage, photographs, video clips and new animation, in high-definition video with both color and black-and-white material.[3] It runs 87 minutes and is in English and Khmer.[2] Support came from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Cal Humanities, the Sundance Institute/John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Initiative and the Center for Cultural Innovation.[3]
Release and reception
The film was a Spotlight Honoree at CAAMFest 2015 and received a Focal International Award.[3] It screened at the Denver Film Festival, the Seattle International Film Festival, the Hawaii International Film Festival and the Morelia International Film Festival, and in the UCLA Film & Television Archive's Archive Documentary Spotlight.[3] A two-disc collector's edition DVD includes a Khmer version.[4]
At the Cambodia Town Film Festival
The film is one of the films shown at the Cambodia Town Film Festival in Long Beach, California. In September 2020 the festival presented free virtual screenings worldwide from September 16 to 20.[4]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Cambodia Town Film Festival, CTFF 2015 OFFICIAL SELECTION: THE KILLING FIELDS OF DR. HAING S. NGOR (archived, 2015-07-28)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 American Film Institute, The Killing Fields of Dr. Haing S. Ngor (2015-04-26)
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 DeepFocus Productions, The Killing Fields of Dr. Haing S. Ngor
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Genocide Watch, virtual screening of The Killing Fields of Dr. Haing S. Ngor (September 17, 2020)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Cambodia Town Film Festival, CTFF 2015 WINNERS (archived)