Phatry Derek Pan : Documentary

Thanks to ThaRum Bun for this article about a young Khmer-American who is making quite a name for himself as an articulate and very capable writer. I met Phatry Derek Pan myself over a drink in the Foreign Correspondents Club when I was in Phnom Penh in January and he's undoubtedly an achiever. His articles appear regularly in the Phnom Penh Post newspaper. You can read Phatry's own musings at his blog.

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I've just heard about another documentary that's currently in production under the writer-directorship of John Severson. Its called Year Zero: Story of a Khmer Rouge Soldier and is a documentary that revisits the genocide committed by the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia in the late 1970's. For thirty-two years, people responsible for the deaths of nearly two million people have lived freely and unpunished among other Cambodians. Aki Ra was a former KR soldier who has since devoted his life to the removal of land mines placed by the KR. Ra's narrative provides the backbone for the film and sets the stage for the upcoming KR tribunal. You can find out more about the film and read the filmmaker's blog here.