“Hope for the Future,” a new film by the Documentation Center of Cambodia, tells the story of Sek Say, a young girl who lost both parents to the Khmer Rouge.
Now 44, she was reunited with a cousin, who led her to discover the fate of her mother, providing her closure.
Makara Ouch, director of the film, said that kind of closure is critical to Cambodians overcoming the trauma of the Khmer Rouge.
Many Cambodians do not know what happened to disappeared loved ones under the regime, which separated children from the families, husbands from wives.
“If you try hard, I believe you can find the fate of your family members,” Makara Ouch said. “For example, even though Mrs. Sek Say knew her mother was most likely dead, she still continued to look for her, and in the end she found her mother. She now has closure and can move on with her life for the sake of her children.”
The eight-minute video can be viewed on YouTube in both Khmer and English:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1u9bmikFA8&index=2&list=UUjjogfyGqHJyEo-RmEAy0sA&spfreload=10
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwwYfPfuov4&list=UUjjogfyGqHJyEo-RmEAy0sA
