On Nov. 8, the Political Science Department screened “Enemies of the People,” the winner of world documentary special jury prize. This event was held in Romita Auditorium in Ryan Library. The department was honored to invite the film director Rob Lemkin as the guest speaker in the question and answer session.

At the beginning of the event, there was a technical problem which paused the screening a few times, but attendees showed respect by remaining silent in their seats.

In the late 1970s, the Khmer Rouge massacred almost two million people. The Killing Fields of Cambodia was an enigma for years because of many unexplained details. However, a dedicated journalist named Sambath finally revealed the secrets after spending ten years gathering information.

In the ten years, Sambath built up a relationship with people who committed massacres, especially with Pol Pot’s right-hand man, Nuon Chea. People called Nuon Chea Brother Number Two. Sambath recorded and disclosed the testimonies which he kept hidden for years.

Sambath is one of the victims because his family died in the killing fields. Sambath convinced Brother Number Two to confess the reason he and Pol Pot slaughtered party members that they deemed the party members were the enemies of the people.

“Enemies of the People” played an important role in revealing the history in Cambodia. Current Cambodian government wanted to use the copies of the film as evidence to put the murderers in trial, but both Sambath and Lemkin refused to do so. They did not make this film for the court, and they informed those interviewed of this prior to the recordings.

“We said that we wouldn’t give it to the court. …We are separate from the court,” Lemkin said.

He also explained that people who committed the crimes would not say anything about the past if they knew that Lemkin and Sambath were from the government.

For Lemkin, this film is an extension of reality. People know the massacre in Cambodia which happened under Pol Pot. “All these people have kept the secrets. They try to find the ways to accommodate their lives,” Lemkin said.

People who were involved in the killing fields were hiding the secrets, and the secrets would have been buried forever if Sambath did not sacrifice years in building relationships with the perpetrators. “It is hard to get the information without having the relationship,” Lemkin said.

“I think the movie is very interesting. But more importantly, it is educational because it is important for everybody to understand the fact that there was something like the killing field that happened. It also important for people to know that there are still these people around and there is a controversy, should they go to jail? Should they not? And it should be spread around to the entire world,” junior Nelson Matias said.

“I thought the movie served as an interesting flashback. It discusses an issue that is not quite frequently looked at as it should be,” senior Jesse Ouellette said. “More or less I think that having the director there to answer questions was very beneficial to the student body because of his experience in actually making the film and being over there seeing the actual descendants of those who died in the killing fields that was very educational and a great part of Make a Difference Week.”