WASHINGTON DC - A film that explores the realities of forced marriage under the Khmer Rouge has won another award, this time in Qatar. “Red Wedding” won the Golden Award at a film festival organized in the Gulf State by the news organization Al Jazeera.
The film, produced by Cambodian Chan Lida, competed against more than 200 other entries.
And even though the film already won an award at an international film festival in Amsterdam, Chan Lida told VOA Khmer in an interview she had not expected to win this time.
“I think it’s a source of pride for Cambodia, for the revival of our films in Cambodia, which were lost for a while during the Khmer Rouge,” she said.
“Red Wedding” highlights the struggles of Cambodian women forced to marry strangers under the strict policies of the Khmer Rouge.
Chan Lida said she was inspired to make the film because, as the UN-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal was under way in Phnom Penh, she saw forced marriage as a new kind of crime against humanity. This was especially evident as women began submitting complaints about forced marriage to the court, she said.
She was further inspired to create the film because so few young Cambodians understand what their parents went through under the regime, she said.
“In the future, I want to do more films regarding youth, land, human rights, laborers, forests and the wellbeing of people,” she said. “These are all topics interesting to people.”
‘Red Wedding’ Film Wins Award in Qatar
- Sok Khemara
- VOA Khmer
