After great domestic success and being nominated to represent Cambodia at the Oscars, the historical fiction film Meeting with Pol Pot is set to come to the US in Spring 2025.
Based on historical events, the film Meeting with Pol Pot mirrors the life of Elizabeth Becker, an American journalist, who wrote When the War Was Over: Cambodia and The Khmer Rouge Revolution to recount her once-in-a-lifetime journey to Cambodia during the peak of the Khmer Rouge. Alongside Richard Dudman, another American journalist, and Malcolm Caldwell, a Scottish professor, Becker toured the country and even met Pol Pot in 1978.
From 1975 to 1979, Pol Pot ruled Cambodia, which was then called Democratic Kampuchea, with an iron fist and led the communist Khmer Rouge party, whose economic and political policies killed between 1.5 and 3 million Cambodians. Unfortunately, Becker’s trip also ended in tragedy after Caldwell was mysteriously murdered on the last day of their travels.
Similarly, the film depicts three fictious Frenchmen who are invited by the Khmer Rouge to interview their mysterious and totalitarian leader, Pol Pot. The main protagonist is Lisa Delbo, a journalist who begins to probe and question Pol Pot’s interpretation of Communist thought through her various audio interviews. She is accompanied by Paul Thomas, a photographer who captures scenes from the trip, and Alain Cariou, a Khmer Rouge sympathizer and former classmate of one of their Cambodian hosts. Naturally, various conflicts form between the main protagonist and the Khmer Rouge tour guides, which creates non-stop tension and drama.
Remembering the Past Through Film
The film is not just a simple historical narrative. Instead, French-Cambodian director Rithy Panh represents the brutality that the Cambodian people faced at the hands of the Khmer Rouge by interweaving dramatic clips of archival footage with handmade clay figures. Furthermore, Panh filmed the movie in an abandoned airport where many people perished in labor camps nearly 50 years ago. Every detail of the film masterfully conveys the hardships under the Khmer Rouge, which resulted in the loss of Panh’s parents and two siblings.
Given the difficult subject matter, the film did face some challenges. After two potential actors disappeared before filming began, Panh was left without someone to portray the elusive Pol Pot. He ultimately decided to depict the controversial leader as just a shadow.
Success at Home and Abroad
In France, Rendez-vous avec Pol Pot, the original French title for Meeting with Pol Pot, was screened in over 280 cinemas. The movie was such a success that it even screened at the 77th Cannes Film Festival. Eventually, the movie premiered in nine cinemas across Cambodia with a ticket price of just $2 to make the film accessible to a wider audience. Recently, the film was chosen to represent Cambodia at the 2025 Academy Awards.
Aside from being entertaining, the film has also been used to educate people about history. For example, The Bophana Center, a historical archive and NGO founded by Panh, invited 106 students and teachers from the Phnom Penh Teacher Education College to watch the film for free. Similarly, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation created an official French-language exam based on the film and gave free tickets to the 200 students who registered for the test. The exam was meant to promote historical understanding and recruit Liaison Officers for the 20th Francophonie Summit, which Cambodia will host in 2026.
Towards an American Debut
Recently, US production company Strand Releasing acquired the screening rights to Meeting with Pol Pot. The company has released an English trailer for the film and plans to release the movie in the US in Spring 2025. Whether you are a film buff or a history lover, the film will be a must-see because of its masterful and thought-provoking portrayal of historical facts that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
Daniel Salgado-Alvarez is a Fall 2024 Young Professional at the East-West Center. He is a recent graduate from Harvard University, where he studied sociology and East Asian studies.