From the frontlines of the conflict against the Khmer Rouge to the backrooms of political power in Phnom Penh, legendary documentary maker James Gerrand provides rare behind-the-scenes views of Cambodian strongman Hun Sen’s battle to gain the upper hand against his former allies, Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. In his late teens, Hun Sen was originally recruited into the Khmer Rouge as a guerrilla fighter. Later, he defected to the side of the Vietnamese invaders who expelled the Khmer Rouge in 1979. As Prime Minister from 1985 to 2023, Hun Sen led the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) and cemented his power while guiding Cambodia’s political and economic development, amid accusations of serious corruption and human rights violations.
“The Strongman and the Last Days of the Khmer Rouge” presents a fascinating insight into how Hun Sen has wielded political power. This story is told via in-depth interviews with Hun Sen and his colleagues and political adversaries. The film draws upon filmmaker James Gerrand’s own archive of footage shot in Cambodia over the past 40 years. It is a revealing portrait – showing Hun Sen’s principal character traits, his political savvy and capacity for both charm and ruthlessness.
James Gerrand has written for publications including the Far Eastern Economic Review, Bangkok Post, The Australian, Nation Review, National Times, and the Asian Wall Street Journal. During the 1970s and 1980s, he filmed and produced news and current affairs reports for Visnews (UK for worldwide syndication), CBS (America), ABC (America), ABC (Australia) and SBS-TV (Australia).
After arriving in Phnom Penh in 1967 in a canoe, a voyage that became the basis of his film ‘Mekong Downstream’, Gerrand based himself in Phnom Penh and covered the outbreak of the civil war that eventually brought Pol Pot to power. He began his first news filming of the war as a stringer for Visnews and CBS (America). From this intense involvement in the Cambodian tragedy, came his seminal documentary study ‘Khmer! Khmer! Cambodia in Conflict’ (1972). His commitment to filming and documenting every major twist and turn in Cambodia’s tortured history has never waned. Returning to the region every year since the fall of Pol Pot in 1979, he has worked independently to produce his landmark documentaries ‘Cambodia, the Prince & the Prophecy’ (1986), ‘Cambodia Kampuchea’ (1987) and ‘The Last God-King’ (1996), which still stand as among the clearest, most penetrating film studies available that delve down to the roots of modern Cambodian conflicts.
Members who wish to book in advance should email info@fccthai.com or call the FCCT office on 02-652-0580. Non-members can use this link.
