Want to go?
What: "Enemies of the People" documentary film
When: Sept. 11, 12, 25. All shows 4:30 p.m.
Where: Art Theatre, 2025 E. Fourth St., Long Beach
Tickets: $10
Information: Call 562-438-5435 or 562-433-2490; www.arttheatre longbeach.com
By Greg Mellen,Press Telegram Staff Writer
Posted: 09/08/2010
LONG BEACH - The memories of the Killing Fields genocide are never far removed from the Cambodian refugee population in Long Beach.
On Saturday, those memories will be front and center at the Art Theater, with the screening of "Enemies of the People," an award-winning and chilling documentary film that features interviews with peasant executioners and Nuon Chea, the former right-hand man or "Brother Number Two" in the Khmer Rouge, whose brutal reign led to the deaths of upward of 2 million people between 1975 and 1979.
Because of the sensitive nature of the film and the memories it could stir, particularly among the many survivors in Long Beach's Cambodian community, Cambodian leaders are scrambling to put together a meeting to help those who want to see the movie understand and process what they will witness, or, indeed, whether they want to attend.
Many elders in the Khmer community still suffer debilitating effects from post traumatic stress disorder, and movies about the Khmer Rouge years can unexpectedly trigger nightmares and horrific memories.
For that reason Sara Pol-Lim, executive director of the United Cambodian Community, is hustling to organize a community meeting, although as of Wednesday afternoon a time and date had not been set. Those interested in attending can call the United Cambodian Community at 562-433-2490.
"People with experience with the Khmer Rouge already know (what happened)" Pol-Lim said. "But to see it will confirm their fear and pain."
For that reason, she says, it might be beneficial for elder survivors to meet and talk to others prior to viewing the film.
On the flip side, Pol-Lim says the film could have therapeutic value.
"I think this could be great toward building healthy practices," Pol-Lim. "It's a process we need to go through."
Raymond Chavarria of UCC said while the film could be very educational for youth and non-Cambodians, it might be difficult for survivors.
"We kind of have to prepare them," he said.
A larger community meeting and video dialogue with the film's co-director, Rob Lemkin, and people in Cambodia is planned for October. That event will be in conjunction with a screening of the film, but is still in the planning stages.
Much of the film consists of interviews with Nuon Chea, the highest-ranking surviving member of the Khmer Rouge, conducted over an extended period until just before his arrest. He is among a group of Khmer Rouge leaders slated to face charges of crimes against humanity at the war crimes tribunal in Phnom Penh. That trial could commence sometime in 2011.
In the movie, Nuon Chea, still an ideologue, shows little remorse or sense of responsibility for the atrocities that occurred under his watch.
Thet Sambath is a reporter who spent nearly 10 years traveling to the hinterlands of Cambodia to learn about the past, to find some of the killers who were willing to be filmed and talk about their experiences.
The movie is a layered look at how holocausts happen and the emotional wreckage they leave behind, from the tormented and guilt-ridden lives of perpetrators to innocents like Theth Sambath, who lost his father and older brother, trying to make sense and reconcile their loss, to Nuon Chea stubbornly trying to hold onto the ideal that went so horribly awry.
greg.mellen@presstelegram.com, 562-499-1291
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