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© Dulac Distribution

Introduction

France, Cambodia, Taiwan, Qatar, Turkey / 2024 / 112 min
Director：Rithy PANH

A feature film based loosely on the journalist Elizabeth Becker's account of her visit to Phnom Penh in 1978, alongside scholar Malcolm Caldwell and journalist Richard Dudman, titled "When the War Was Over: Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge Revolution.” It follows the three journalists as they must navigate strict official control in order to observe how government policy is implemented, leading up to their exclusive interview with Pol Pot. The officials’ meticulously crafted facade occasionally crumbles, offering the journalists a fleeting view of the terrible deeds carried out in the name of the revolution. Still, their eagerly awaited meeting with Pol Pot continues to be postponed. Rithy Panh has created a poignant and memorable piece of fictional narrative rooted in fact by incorporating not only faded archival footage and photographs into the film, but also the use of clay figurines. Panh has devoted much of his career to examining the Khmer Rouge era in his native Cambodia, and this film surely provides significant new depth to this oeuvre. It premiered in the Cannes Première section of the Cannes Film Festival.

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