Heart of Darkness
Heart of Darkness
A personal journey into the heart of the killing fields.
Enemies of the People represents a watershed moment in Cambodian history. In the late 1970s, Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot enacted a genocidal 'cleansing' of his country which resulted in an estimated 2-3 million deaths. Professionals and intellectuals were targeted, as Pol Pot attempted to revert the country to an agrarian socialist state, but the massacre extended to anyone associated with the previous government, ethnic minorities and religious leaders.
The reign of terror was so broad that nearly a quarter of the Cambodian population was lost. In the thirty years since, little has come to light that explains why and how this slaughter took place - until now. Having lost his own parents to the Killing Fields, Cambodian journalist Thet Sambath spent the better part of a decade investigating the horror that befell his country, and winning the trust of those who could give a first-hand account of the massacre: the people who carried it out.
In his critically-acclaimed, multi-award winning documentary, Sambath gains unprecedented access to Nuon Chea (a.k.a. Brother Number Two), Pol Pot's right hand man and the ideological director of the Khmer Rouge, as well as many of the peasant farmers who were forced to carry out his death orders.
Called "heart-wrenching and shocking" by Screen Daily and "inspiring" by The New York Times, Enemies of the People is a groundbreaking film, bringing light to one of the darkest corners of human history. It screens next week as part of the Human Rights Arts and Film Festival, which showcases films from around the world that advance and encourage education, debate and awareness of human rights issues amongst the broader community through creative media.
Published Thursday, 12 May 2011
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