Directors: Thet Sambath and Rob Lemkin
Country: Cambodia/UK
Year: 2010
Length: 94 minutes
Genre: Documentary
Screening Times: Friday, February 25, 2011 at 8 PM | Buy Tickets
Synopsis
Shortlisted for the 2010 Academy Award for “Best Documentary” and winner of Sundance’s World Cinema “Special Jury Prize for Documentary”, Enemies of the People follows Cambodian investigative journalist Thet Sambath as he embarks on a decade-long journey into both his own tragic past and that of his country, as he seeks out and confronts those responsible for his family’s death under the Khmer Rouge regime. Particularly illuminating (and chilling) are the conversations with Pol Pot’s right-hand man, “Brother Number Two” –- now living peacefully in the countryside awaiting trial for his actions three decades prior –- which, absent polemics, weigh the charged issue of personal accountability with unforgiving lucidity.
Festivals & Awards
Moët 13th British Independent Film Awards, UK 2010: WINNER, BEST DOCUMENTARY AWARD
Norwegian Documentary Festival, Norway 2010: WINNER, BEST DOCUMENTARY AWARD
Beldocs Festival, Serbia 2010: WINNER, BEST DOCUMENTARY AWARD
Full Frame Documentary Festival, USA 2010: WINNER, ANNE DELLINGER GRAND JURY AWARD and CHARLES E GUGGENHEIM EMERGING ARTIST AWARD
Hong Kong International Film Festival, China 2010: WINNER, OUTSTANDING DOCUMENTARY AWARD
Sundance Film Festival, USA 2010: WINNER, WORLD CINEMA SPECIAL JURY PRIZE FOR DOCUMENTARY
True False Film Festival, USA 2010: WINNER, TRUE LIFE AWARD
Santa Barbara International Film Festival, USA 2010: WINNER, BEST DOCUMENTARY and WINNER, SOCIAL JUSTICE AWARD
International Documentary Festival, The Netherlands 2009: TOP TEN AUDIENCE AWARD
Vera Film Festival, Finland 2010: WINNER, BEST DOCUMENTARY VOTED BY AUDIENCE
One World Film Festival, Czech Republic 2010: WINNER, GRAND JURY PRIZE
Interviews & Reviews
Dazed Digital — Rob Lemkin talks to us about his documentary on Pol Pot’s Cambodian Khmer Rouge and their bloody regime
Film Critic — Film Review: Enemies of the People
Guardian UK — Enemies of the People – review
Slant Magazine — Film Review: Enemies of the People
The Economist — Enemies of the People: How a low-budget film helped to catch a Khmer Rouge leader
The Mirror — Enemies of the People film review: A timely documentary on Cambodia’s killing fields
Directors’ Bios
Thet Sambath is a senior reporter with the Phnom Penh Post, Cambodia’s premier English-language newspaper. He is widely regarded as one of Cambodia’s best investigative reporters and his stories have been syndicated all over the world. He has worked for the American Refugee Committee as a paramedic on the Thai-Cambodia border; as police interpreter for the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC); and as a human rights investigator for LICADHO. Since 1994 he has worked as producer, translator and camera operator for many world broadcasting organizations, including BBC, WGBH Frontline, NHK and NBC. In 2002 he traveled to the US on a Jefferson Scholarship.
Rob Lemkin is the founder and director of Old Street Films. He has produced and directed over 50 documentaries for BBC, Channel 4, ITV, Sky, The History Channel (US) and Arts & Entertainment. He has won numerous awards in Britain and abroad, and his work has appeared in major documentary strands for C4, BBC and ITV. He has made several films about the history and politics of Asia including The Real Dr Evil (BBC/Arts & Entertainment 2003), Who Really Killed Aung San? (BBC2 1997), Malaya: The Undeclared War (BBC2 1998), China: Handle with Care (C4 2001) and Bearers of the Sword (C4 2002).
External Links
Official Website
Enemies of the People Trailer
Enemies of the People on IMDb