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Angelina Jolie: Documenting Cambodia's History

The actress and director discusses her new film First They Killed My Father set during the Khmer Rouge era

First They Killed My Father is a new film set in Cambodia during the devastating years of violence under the Khmer Rouge regime, made by Angelina Jolie for Netflix. She explains how adopting her son Maddox from the country 15 years ago inspired her to explore Cambodia’s troubled history through film.

Writer Loung Ung who lived through the mass killings, and whose memoir the film is based on, describes how she managed to overcome her childhood trauma and how she hopes Cambodia can move on through open discussion and education.

Yalda Hakim meets a former guard at one of the Khmer Rouge torture prisons to find out about the impact of the violence on both sides.

Revered Cambodian film director Rithy Panh explains why cinema is so important for documenting this dark period of national history, and how he hopes the arts can contribute to a peaceful future for the next generation.

And Arn Chorn Pond, founder of the heritage organisation Cambodian Living Arts reflects on the need to educate young people about the traditional arts and why he thinks this can encourage understanding.

(Photo: Angelina Jolie in Cambodia promoting the film Credit: Tang Chhin Sothy/AFP/Getty Images)

Available now

27 minutes

Last on

Sun 26 Feb 2017 10:06GMT

Broadcasts

  • Sat 25 Feb 2017 09:32GMT
  • Sat 25 Feb 2017 12:32GMT
  • Sat 25 Feb 2017 19:06GMT
  • Sun 26 Feb 2017 05:32GMT
  • Sun 26 Feb 2017 10:06GMT

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