Research Guides: Southeast Asia Film & Cinema: Cambodia Films

See a listing of more than 150 documentaries from Cambodia.

Don't Think I've Forgotten
Directed by John Pirozzi. 2014. 105 minutes.

Through the eyes, words, and songs of its popular music stars of the 50s, 60s, and 70s, DON'T THINK I'VE FORGOTTEN: CAMBODIA'S LOST ROCK AND ROLL examines and unravels Cambodia's tragic past, culminating in the genocidal Khmer Rouge's dismantling of the society and murder of 2,000,000 of its citizens. Combining interviews of the surviving Cambodian musicians themselves (a total of 150 hours of interviews were filmed) with never-before-seen archival material and rare songs, this documentary tracks the twists and turns of Cambodian music as it morphs into rock and roll, blossoms, and is nearly destroyed along with the rest of the country.

A River Changes Course (Cambodia)
Directed by Kalyanee Mam. 2013. 83 minutes.

Winner of the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary at Sundance, A River Changes Course tells the story of three families living in contemporary Cambodia as they face hard choices forced by rapid development and struggle to maintain their traditional ways of life as the modern world closes in around them.

Out of the Poison Tree
Directed by Beth Pielert. 2008.
On the eve of the long-awaited Khmer Rouge trial, an American survivor of the genocide returns to Cambodia hoping to unlock the mystery of her father’s disappearance in 1975. Thida Buth Mam’s quest intersects with many silent voices: widows, survivors from remote villages, monks and even former perpetrators. Her search for the truth stirs up the fractured pieces of one family’s nightmare, unearths an unimaginable heartbreak and ultimately shines light on a people’s broken silence.

Asia Educational Media Service Review

The Missing Picture
Directed by Rithy Panh. 2013. 92 minutes.

Rithy Panh uses clay figures, archival footage, and his narration to recreate the atrocities Cambodia's Khmer Rouge committed between 1975 and 1979.

Who Killed Chea Vichea?
Directed by Bradley Cox. 2011. 56 minutes.

After the assassination of a Cambodian union leader, filmmaker Bradley Cox tracks down witnesses and unravels the police plot that framed two men.

Southeast Asia Film & Cinema: Cambodia Films

Cambodia Documentaries