POL POT DANCING

Chea Samy, a famed Cambodian dancer, years later learned that the brother-in-law she had raised had become Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge leader. After surviving forced labor under his regime, she returned to Phnom Penh to teach, preserving traditional dance. Her student, Sophiline Cheam, now a successful choreographer, explores Cambodia’s history, including Pol Pot’s hidden link to classical dance.

THE FILMMAKER

A trained singer himself, Spanish-German director Enrique Sánchez Lansch often deals with music in his films. His award-winning documentary films include THE REICHSORCHESTER on the Berlin Philharmonic in Nazi Germany, PIANO ENCOUNTERS on a childhood at the piano, RHYTHM IS IT! about 250 dancing teenagers which sold 650,000 tickets in German theatres and recently A SYMPHONY OF NOISE about musician, music producer and activist Matthew Herbert.

FESTIVALS AND AWARDS

Best Documentary Feature Film – San Francisco Dance Film Festival, USA
Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival, Greece
DOK.fest München, Germany
Millennium Docs Against Gravity, Poland
Cambodia International Film Festival, Cambodia
EBS International Documentary Festival (EIDF), South Korea
Indonesian Bertutur Dance Film Program, Indonesia
Vancouver International Film Festival, Canada
Gijón International Film Festival, Spain
Film Festival Cologne, Germany
DocUtah International Documentary Film Festival, USA