CSULB to screen films on Cambodia

Documentaries detail lives of children, efforts to bring Khmer Rouge leaders to trial.
By Greg Mellen, Staff writer

LONG BEACH - It may be 32 years since the horrors of the so-called Killing Fields in Cambodia were unleashed, but the lessons and the fallout continue.
Today, two documentary films will be screened at Cal State Long Beach as part of an event produced by the Dr. Haing S. Ngor Foundation, "Cambodia: 32 Years After the Killing Fields."

Moderating the day's events will be Jack Ong, executive director and co-founder of the foundation. Dr. Ngor was a Cambodian genocide survivor, author and Academy Award-winning actor for his portrayal of journalist Dith Pran in "The Killing Fields." Ngor was killed outside his home in 1996 by Asian gang members. His foundation continues to provide humanitarian aid in Cambodia, including operating an orphanage.

It is estimated 1.7 million Cambodians died between 1975 and 1979 from executions, starvation and deprivation during the Khmer Rouge reign.

The films, "What I See When I Close My Eyes" and "The Road to Closure" will be aired at 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., respectively.

The first movie, by actress Leslie Hope, looks at the lives of street children in Phnom Penh, who are being sheltered, fed and educated by the Friends-International organization. Hope, a popular television actress who played Kiefer Sutherland's wife in the first year of "24," and her actor husband Adam Kane will discuss the film after its airing.
"The Road to Closure" by Tiara Delgado explores reactions from Cambodians at home and in the U.S. about the erratic and oft-delayed attempts to form a tribunal to bring leaders of the Khmer Rouge to trial for crimes against humanity.

The film is one of four Delgado has made about Cambodia. Her first, which she financed with her own money, was called "Fragile Hopes from the Killing Fields" and is a tale of survivor families narrated by Susan Sarandon in 2003.

Delgado's film will be followed by a timely discussion about the unfolding story of the Khmer Rouge tribunal. To date, just two surviving leaders of the Khmer Rouge have been charged by the tribunal. Their trials have yet to begin.

The Long Beach event, which will be staged from noon until 5 p.m. at the Student Union Ballroom on the Cal State Long Beach campus, will also feature traditional Khmer pinpeat music, Angkor dancing and a book signing by Long Beach resident and author Navy Phim of her memoir "Reflections of a Khmer Soul."