August 30, 2024

“MEETING WITH POL POT”, a film by director Rithy Panh, has been chosen to represent Cambodia in the competition for Best International Feature Film at the 2025 Academy Awards.

“𝗠𝗘𝗘𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗣𝗢𝗟 𝗣𝗢𝗧”(original title “Rendez-vous avec Pol Pot”), a film by director​ Rithy Panh, has been chosen to represent Cambodia in the competition for Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards, to be held on 2 March 2025, Cambodia Oscar® Selection committee announces officially. The Cambodia Film Commission, which promotes Cambodian cinema abroad, said that an independent jury of experts chose Rithy Panh’s film as this year’s entry for Cambodia.

Several members of this year’s committee included statements about “MEETING WITH POLPOT”:
Producer and Director Davy Chou underlined “A fascinating and powerful reflection on fiction, the representation of history and, ultimately, on the conditions necessary to see and receive, today, our missing pictures. ”

Director and producer Sok Visal stated “MEETING WITH POL POT is an immersive journey, with haunting visuals and meticulous sound design that draw you into the eerie, surreal world inhabited by surreal people.”

Chairperson of the Cambodia Oscar® Selection committee Ms. Cecile Malterre declared: “Very beautiful film, the director’s determination to continue to denounce the genocidal machine is remarkable. The different processes used allow us to see the “unregardable”, without forgetting that all of this is not fiction.”

𝐃𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐑𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐏𝐚𝐧𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧:

We are deeply honoured that “MEETING WITH POL POT” has been selected as the Cambodian entry for the Oscars®. This film, based on the courageous reporter work of Elisabeth Becker, tells an important and dark side of the story of the Cambodian genocide. Cinema is magic. From a difficult situation you can do something amazing. This story is also telling the world that all revolutions have good intentions in the beginning. Wearedelighted to be part of the international competition for the Oscars®.

𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐦: 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐄𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐡 𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫’𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲
Freely inspired by journalist Elizabeth Becker’s best seller book When The War Was Over. She declared about the film: “Our movie received a standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival and wonderful reviews. Extraordinary to see my experience reporting in Cambodia reimagined by the masterful Rithy Panh and the amazing Irene Jacob playing my role”
Democratic Kampuchea (Cambodia)- 1978. Three foreign journalists are invited by the Khmer Rouge to conduct an exclusive interview of the regime’s leader, Pol Pot. The country seems ideal. But behind the Potemkin village, the Khmer Rouge regime is declining and the war with Vietnam threatens to invade the country. The regime is looking for culprits, secretly carrying out a large scale genocide. Under the eyes of the journalists, the beautiful picture cracks, revealing the horror. Their journey progressively turns into a nightmare. The film had its world premiere in competition at this year’s Cannes Film Festival in the Premiere official selection in May 2024. The film has been released in Cambodian cinemas since August 9th, 2024 and is still on screen as of today.

𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐦: 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫, 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
“MEETING WITH POL POT”, was produced by Anupheap Production and CDP and filmed entirely in the Kingdom of Cambodia. Producers include Catherine Dussart, Rithy Panh, Justine O., Roger Huang, Fatma Hassan Alremaihi, Hanaa Issa, Mehmet Zahid Sobaci, Muhammed Ziyad Varol, Mirsad Purivatra, Jovan Marjanović, Georges-Marc Benamou. The film was supported by Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée, Canal +, Ciné +, Taicca, Doha Film Institute, OIF, LBPI LHB x An Attitude, TRT Sinema, Obala Art Centar, Q.L. GROUP, WingBank, Kulara, Vattanac and AdvancedBankofAsia.

The Cambodian distributor Westec Media released the film in Cambodian cinemas- for the first commercial release with english subtitles- on August 9th, 2024. Playtime is handling international sales.

Rithy Panh is a director and producer who was born in Cambodia and has lived between France and Cambodia. In 2014, Rithy Panh was Oscar Nominated for his film “The Missing Picture”, which had received the top award in the Un Certain Regard section at the 66th Festival de Cannes. Work after work, he remains committed to a duty: honouring the memoryof the victims of his homeland.

𝗠𝗘𝗘𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛𝗣𝗢𝗟𝗣𝗢𝗧
Press Kit and information (follow the LINK)

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The Oscars®selection explained:
The Academyof Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will publish a list of all the titles submitted in the “Best International Feature Film” category at the beginning of November. Last year, 88 countries submitted films. The shortlist of 15 titles for this category will be announced on December 17, 2024. The five nominated films will be selected from this shortlist and announced on January 17, 2025. The 97th Academy Awards is to be held on 2 March 2025.

𝗖𝗮𝗺𝗯𝗼𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗢𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗿®𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗲
Contact:
Mariam Arthur (Liaison )
+855 98884343
theroadgypsy@gmail.com