Enemies of the People

For more than 10 years, Cambodian journalist Thet Sambath spent his free weekends working in remote rural provinces. The results of this painstaking project are the dozens of interviews with people who directly participated in the slaughter under the Khmer Rouge. How and why were more than two million people killed in this country in such a short period of time? Sambath not only attempts to find the answer to this question from former soldiers who blindly followed orders, but also talks to Nuon Chea, Pol Pot's right-hand man. It took years for him to gain the trust of this old man, who today still refuses to admit personal responsibility for the crimes committed. Sambath is aided in winning Chea's confidence by the fact that he does not tell him about his father and brother, who were killed by the Khmer Rouge. Besides testimony that describes the killing of Cambodian civilians with chilling objectivity, this film (made by the journalist with British director Rob Lemkin) also contains unique archive footage and interesting information about one of the bloodiest regimes in history.