About This Film
Festival Year: 2014
Film Type: Feature
Animated: No
Filmed In: Cambodia, France
Language: French
English Subtitles: No
Production Year: 2013
Captions: None
Film Overview
Original Title: L'Image Manquante
English Title: The Missing Picture
Cambodian filmmaker Rithy Panh is searching for a photograph. Taken in Cambodia between 1975 and 1979, the photo could bring clarity about the atrocities committed against his family and friends during the reign of the Khmer Rouge. Panh narrowly escaped as those close to him died of forced labor and starvation before his eyes. Unable to find or recreate the photograph, Panh provides us with something else: his journey attempting to uncover his past. One of the nominees for Best Foreign Language Film for the 2013 Academy Awards®, THE MISSING PICTURE is a reflection on life under the Khmer Rouge and the way in which it destroyed everything Panh knew and loved. Using sets and characters composed of clay to tell this remarkable story, Panh recreates history and delves into the deep psychological trauma of war. Direct, heartbreaking, and eye-opening, Panh’s film is an essential testament to the archaeological power of cinema, even when digging for the impossible. (In French with subtitles) —C.P.
