Thet Sambath wins prestigious Knight International Journalism Award
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Elizabeth Becker
Jun 21, 2011, 8:43:03 PM6/21/11
to Vietnam Old Hacks
Thet Sambath became the first Cambodian to win the prestigious Knight
International Journalism Award for his dogged journalism dislayed in
the documentary "Enemies of the People." The winners were announced
last night; two Mexican women who did hair-raising reporting on drug
lords will also receive the award at an impressive ceremony and
banquet in Washington on November 1. Sambath got his training at the
Cambodia Daily, started by Bernie Kirsher to create a new generation
of Cambodian journalists who could follow in the footprints of the
greats like Dith Pran. (As a member of an ICFJ-affiliated board, I
nominated Sambath for the award and was ecstatic when his photo
flashed on the screen at the reception.) If any of you are so
inclined, please buy tickets and attend the November banquet to
celebrate Sambath. The tickets are expensive but go to the worthy
cause of supporting the International Center for Journalists. More
information is at www.icfj.org.
International Journalism Award for his dogged journalism dislayed in
the documentary "Enemies of the People." The winners were announced
last night; two Mexican women who did hair-raising reporting on drug
lords will also receive the award at an impressive ceremony and
banquet in Washington on November 1. Sambath got his training at the
Cambodia Daily, started by Bernie Kirsher to create a new generation
of Cambodian journalists who could follow in the footprints of the
greats like Dith Pran. (As a member of an ICFJ-affiliated board, I
nominated Sambath for the award and was ecstatic when his photo
flashed on the screen at the reception.) If any of you are so
inclined, please buy tickets and attend the November banquet to
celebrate Sambath. The tickets are expensive but go to the worthy
cause of supporting the International Center for Journalists. More
information is at www.icfj.org.
Peter Hickman
Jun 21, 2011, 10:43:12 PM6/21/11
to vietnam-...@googlegroups.com
Elizabeth:
We met, briefly, at the VOH dinner at the National Press Club June 11 (we discussed Michael Vickery, who I knew during my 60-63 USIS tour in Cambodia).
I was at the ICFJ event at the Newseum tonight and saw the videos about Thet Sambath and the two Mexican journalists.
Peter Hickman
Natl Press Club
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John Giannini
Jun 23, 2011, 5:51:08 PM6/23/11
to Vietnam Old Hacks
Just received this from the filmmaker.
KILLING FIELDS FILMMAKER WINS TOP WORLD JOURNALISM PRIZE
Cambodian journalist and genocide survivor, Thet Sambath, has won the
2011 Knight International Journalism Award for uncovering the secrets
of the brutal Pol Pot Regime. His film ENEMIES OF THE PEOPLE will be
used as evidence at the trial of the Khmer Rouge leaders which starts
in Phnom Penh on Monday June 27, 2011.
A Cambodian journalist who spent a decade tracking down and eliciting
unprecedented confessions from former Khmer Rouge officials has won
the 2011 Knight International Journalism Award. Thet Sambath, 44, a
senior reporter with the English-language daily Phnom Penh Post, spent
a decade gaining the trust of, among others, Pol Pot’s deputy Nuon
Chea (aka Brother Number 2). His remarkable results were documented in
the award-winning documentary film Enemies of the People which took
Special Jury Prize for World Cinema at the Sundance Film Festival of
2010 and is to air on PBS television in July.
The Knight Award is given annually by the Washington DC-based
International Center for Journalists in recognition of media
professionals who have taken bold steps to keep citizens informed
despite great obstacles. ICFJ said: “[Sambath’s film] is arguably the
most important documentary about the Khmer Rouge. Within Cambodia its
impact was close to home and personal. It will be used as evidence in
the trial of Nuon Chea this year, and it brought Cambodians some
understanding of that tragic time in their history.”
“Enemies of the People is arguably the most important documentary
about the Khmer Rouge.” International Center for Journalists
Thet Sambath speaking from his home in Phnom Penh said: “I am truly
honored to receive this award for my work over the last decade. I
believe its recognition will assist greatly in the process of finding
out the truth of my country’s sad history and enabling us all, victims
and perpetrators alike, to move forward together towards a more
peaceful and just future.”
Sambath lost both his parents and an older brother to the Khmer Rouge.
They were among an estimated 1.7 million Cambodians (around 1 in 5 of
the population) who died during the regime of the radical communist
movement. The deaths were caused by overwork, starvation, execution
and massacre.
Enemies of the People shows the personal nature of that investigation.
“I knew my parents and all the other victims died in a terrible way.
But I didn’t know why they died and no-one could tell me. I wanted to
try and find out why all this happened. So I tried to speak to the
people who did it. Only the killers know the truth.”
Working mostly at weekends, in his spare time, Sambath started his
research in 1999 a year after the Khmer Rouge movement collapsed. In
2001 he was introduced to Nuon Chea, formerly the Khmer Rouge’s chief
ideologue. Over the following years he built an extraordinary level of
trust with the retired revolutionary which led to a series of detailed
admissions of the most secret and lethal decisions taken by the Khmer
Rouge leadership.
Remarkably, Sambath also built up a network of Khmer Rouge
perpetrators around the Cambodian countryside who were also prepared
to confess to wide scale killings. Before this there had been little
or no admission of killing made by any former Khmer Rouge at any level
of the organisation.
Fellow journalists have been unstinting in their praise of Sambath’s
work.
Elizabeth Becker (author of When the War was Over) wrote: “Sambath has
accomplished the equivalent of a miracle. Nothing else like Enemies of
the People exists in broadcast journalism.”
Seth Mydans (South East Asia correspondent of The New York Times):
“He’s an extraordinarily imaginative and resourceful journalist,
traits that are most evident in his brilliant documentary, Enemies of
the People.”
Patrick Barta of The Wall Street Journal: “Enemies of the People may
be one of the most important films about Cambodia ever made. It works
not only as a historical document, but also as a work of art in its
own right.”
Rob Lemkin, Sambath’s British film-making partner, said: “The
perpetrators of the Khmer Rouge Killing Fields have spoken and are
speaking to him because they trust him and because he has persuaded
them at the most profound level that it is in their interests and
those of their society to speak – no matter how difficult or dangerous
it may be for them. This is an astounding achievement.”
The trial of Nuon Chea and three other central committee members of
the Khmer Rouge starts on Monday 27th June, 2011 in Phnom Penh in a
hybrid court set up jointly by the United Nations and the government
of Cambodia. The defendants face charges of genocide, war crimes and
crimes against humanity. According to Agence France Presse: “ The only
time Nuon Chea -- the movement's chief ideologue -- admitted the
regime's murderous tactics was in the 2009 documentary "Enemies of the
People" when he said perceived traitors were killed if they could not
be "re-educated" or "corrected".
The Knight Award will be presented to Sambath on November 1, 2011 at
the ICFJ Awards Dinner, the biggest international media event held in
Washington DC.
A shortened version of Enemies of the People will air on the PBS TV
series POV on July 12 at 10pm (local times).
More information at the film’s website: http://www.enemiesofthepeoplemovie.com
Like our facebook page at
http://www.facebook.com/enemiesofthepeople
Follow us on Twitter
http://twitter.com/#!/Enemies_People
For screeners and interview requests contact: Matthew Torne on
Enqu...@oldstreetfilms.com
For screenings, grassroots and educational use of the Theatrical
Version go to: http://enemiesofthepeoplemovie.com/dvd/educational-dvd/
For downloadable pictures visit: http://www.infc.us/enemies/press.html
KILLING FIELDS FILMMAKER WINS TOP WORLD JOURNALISM PRIZE
Cambodian journalist and genocide survivor, Thet Sambath, has won the
2011 Knight International Journalism Award for uncovering the secrets
of the brutal Pol Pot Regime. His film ENEMIES OF THE PEOPLE will be
used as evidence at the trial of the Khmer Rouge leaders which starts
in Phnom Penh on Monday June 27, 2011.
A Cambodian journalist who spent a decade tracking down and eliciting
unprecedented confessions from former Khmer Rouge officials has won
the 2011 Knight International Journalism Award. Thet Sambath, 44, a
senior reporter with the English-language daily Phnom Penh Post, spent
a decade gaining the trust of, among others, Pol Pot’s deputy Nuon
Chea (aka Brother Number 2). His remarkable results were documented in
the award-winning documentary film Enemies of the People which took
Special Jury Prize for World Cinema at the Sundance Film Festival of
2010 and is to air on PBS television in July.
The Knight Award is given annually by the Washington DC-based
International Center for Journalists in recognition of media
professionals who have taken bold steps to keep citizens informed
despite great obstacles. ICFJ said: “[Sambath’s film] is arguably the
most important documentary about the Khmer Rouge. Within Cambodia its
impact was close to home and personal. It will be used as evidence in
the trial of Nuon Chea this year, and it brought Cambodians some
understanding of that tragic time in their history.”
“Enemies of the People is arguably the most important documentary
about the Khmer Rouge.” International Center for Journalists
Thet Sambath speaking from his home in Phnom Penh said: “I am truly
honored to receive this award for my work over the last decade. I
believe its recognition will assist greatly in the process of finding
out the truth of my country’s sad history and enabling us all, victims
and perpetrators alike, to move forward together towards a more
peaceful and just future.”
Sambath lost both his parents and an older brother to the Khmer Rouge.
They were among an estimated 1.7 million Cambodians (around 1 in 5 of
the population) who died during the regime of the radical communist
movement. The deaths were caused by overwork, starvation, execution
and massacre.
Enemies of the People shows the personal nature of that investigation.
“I knew my parents and all the other victims died in a terrible way.
But I didn’t know why they died and no-one could tell me. I wanted to
try and find out why all this happened. So I tried to speak to the
people who did it. Only the killers know the truth.”
Working mostly at weekends, in his spare time, Sambath started his
research in 1999 a year after the Khmer Rouge movement collapsed. In
2001 he was introduced to Nuon Chea, formerly the Khmer Rouge’s chief
ideologue. Over the following years he built an extraordinary level of
trust with the retired revolutionary which led to a series of detailed
admissions of the most secret and lethal decisions taken by the Khmer
Rouge leadership.
Remarkably, Sambath also built up a network of Khmer Rouge
perpetrators around the Cambodian countryside who were also prepared
to confess to wide scale killings. Before this there had been little
or no admission of killing made by any former Khmer Rouge at any level
of the organisation.
Fellow journalists have been unstinting in their praise of Sambath’s
work.
Elizabeth Becker (author of When the War was Over) wrote: “Sambath has
accomplished the equivalent of a miracle. Nothing else like Enemies of
the People exists in broadcast journalism.”
Seth Mydans (South East Asia correspondent of The New York Times):
“He’s an extraordinarily imaginative and resourceful journalist,
traits that are most evident in his brilliant documentary, Enemies of
the People.”
Patrick Barta of The Wall Street Journal: “Enemies of the People may
be one of the most important films about Cambodia ever made. It works
not only as a historical document, but also as a work of art in its
own right.”
Rob Lemkin, Sambath’s British film-making partner, said: “The
perpetrators of the Khmer Rouge Killing Fields have spoken and are
speaking to him because they trust him and because he has persuaded
them at the most profound level that it is in their interests and
those of their society to speak – no matter how difficult or dangerous
it may be for them. This is an astounding achievement.”
The trial of Nuon Chea and three other central committee members of
the Khmer Rouge starts on Monday 27th June, 2011 in Phnom Penh in a
hybrid court set up jointly by the United Nations and the government
of Cambodia. The defendants face charges of genocide, war crimes and
crimes against humanity. According to Agence France Presse: “ The only
time Nuon Chea -- the movement's chief ideologue -- admitted the
regime's murderous tactics was in the 2009 documentary "Enemies of the
People" when he said perceived traitors were killed if they could not
be "re-educated" or "corrected".
The Knight Award will be presented to Sambath on November 1, 2011 at
the ICFJ Awards Dinner, the biggest international media event held in
Washington DC.
A shortened version of Enemies of the People will air on the PBS TV
series POV on July 12 at 10pm (local times).
More information at the film’s website: http://www.enemiesofthepeoplemovie.com
Like our facebook page at
http://www.facebook.com/enemiesofthepeople
Follow us on Twitter
http://twitter.com/#!/Enemies_People
For screeners and interview requests contact: Matthew Torne on
Enqu...@oldstreetfilms.com
For screenings, grassroots and educational use of the Theatrical
Version go to: http://enemiesofthepeoplemovie.com/dvd/educational-dvd/
For downloadable pictures visit: http://www.infc.us/enemies/press.html
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