15 March 2010
Frederick Film Festival
Who Killed Chea Vichea? will screen at the Frederick Film Festival in Maryland on Saturday, March 27 at 2:30pm.
This is your first chance to see Who Killed Chea Vichea? with final music and narration, and in full color-corrected glory! And director Bradley Cox will be at the screening to participate in a discussion after the film.
The screening is at 2:30pm at the Weinberg Center for the Arts, 20 W Patrick St, in downtown Frederick (map).
Buy tickets here!
Labels: screenings
22 January 2010
Sixth anniversary, and Big Sky screening in Montana
On this, the sixth anniversary of the murder of Chea Vichea, we are happy to announce that the one-hour version of Who Killed Chea Vichea? is in the final stages of post-production.
The next screening will be on February 14th, in Missoula, Montana, at the widely respected Big Sky Documentary Film Festival. If you've seen one of our preview screenings, please visit the film's page on the festival site and add your review. And of course if you're anywhere near Missoula, we hope you'll attend.
In Phnom Penh today, hundreds marched to commemorate Vichea and to demand justice in the case. The union that Vichea led threatened a week-long nationwide strike unless the government arrests the actual killers.
Here's a video report from RFA (in Khmer):
The next screening will be on February 14th, in Missoula, Montana, at the widely respected Big Sky Documentary Film Festival. If you've seen one of our preview screenings, please visit the film's page on the festival site and add your review. And of course if you're anywhere near Missoula, we hope you'll attend.In Phnom Penh today, hundreds marched to commemorate Vichea and to demand justice in the case. The union that Vichea led threatened a week-long nationwide strike unless the government arrests the actual killers.
Here's a video report from RFA (in Khmer):
Labels: screenings
23 December 2009
Sam Oeun: Don't arrest the innocent
Sok Sam Oeun, one of the two men awaiting retrial in the assassination of Chea Vichea, urged the authorities not to arrest any other innocent people for the crime. From VOA:
“In prison it’s not easy,” Sok Samoeun, who is awaiting an Appeals Court hearing on murder charges against him, said on Hello VOA. “It’s something that has more suffering than I can say.”Full story
20 November 2009
Screenings in Canada at CLiFF
The fine cut of Who Killed Chea Vichea? will screen this Saturday, Nov. 28 in Toronto and Victoria BC as part of CLiFF, the Canadian Labor International Film Festival.If you live in or near either city, this is your chance to preview the near-final version of the film!
In Toronto, the program starts at 3:30 at the Bloor Cinema, 506 Bloor St West. (details)
In Victoria, the program starts at 2pm at Camas Books, 2590 Quadra St. (details)
In Victoria, the program starts at 2pm at Camas Books, 2590 Quadra St. (details)
Please spread the word to anyone who might be interested!
Labels: screenings
26 October 2009
Adhoc: Inconvenient Films
Who Killed Chea Vichea? will be screening tomorrow night in Vilnius, Lithuania as part of the "Adhoc: Inconvenient Films" Human Rights Film Festival. Also Nov 5 in Klaipeda and Nov 8 in Kaunas. Please pass the word to your Lithuanian friends!- Vilnius: Pasaka, 09.10.27 at 18.20
- Kaunas: VMU Club "Sesija," 09.11.08 at 16.00
- Klaipeda: LCC, 09.11.05 at 19.10
Labels: screenings
25 August 2009
Vichea's brother faces lawsuit
Chea Mony has always been clear that Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun did not kill his brother, Vichea. He even rejected a compensation payment that the court ordered them to pay his family.
Now that the appeals court has reopened the investigation, Mony, who was elected president of the union Vichea led, is pointing the finger at the government--and the government doesn't like it.
A government spokesperson has already announced that it plans to sue Mony, though it has not yet filed the suit. In Cambodia, judges can order imprisonment for libel, in addition to monetary compensation.
In recent months the regime has been using the courts, which it controls, more and more frequently to silence its critics.
In the most recent case, opposition member of parliament Mu Sochua lost her defamation suit against Prime Minister Hun Sen, who then won his countersuit against her after having her stripped of her parliamentary immunity.
Meanwhile the United Nations and the ILO have welcomed the reopening of the investigation, saying, "It now seems beyond doubt that there is insufficient evidence to maintain the charges against Born Samnang and Sok Sam Ouen. ...The charges against the men should now be dropped, allowing the police to resume the search for those really responsible for shooting Chea Vichea in January 2004."
Now that the appeals court has reopened the investigation, Mony, who was elected president of the union Vichea led, is pointing the finger at the government--and the government doesn't like it.
"I am ready to take responsibility and dare to be imprisoned for my conclusion about my brother's case, which is that the government prepared a plan to kill my brother."
A government spokesperson has already announced that it plans to sue Mony, though it has not yet filed the suit. In Cambodia, judges can order imprisonment for libel, in addition to monetary compensation.
In recent months the regime has been using the courts, which it controls, more and more frequently to silence its critics.
In the most recent case, opposition member of parliament Mu Sochua lost her defamation suit against Prime Minister Hun Sen, who then won his countersuit against her after having her stripped of her parliamentary immunity.
Meanwhile the United Nations and the ILO have welcomed the reopening of the investigation, saying, "It now seems beyond doubt that there is insufficient evidence to maintain the charges against Born Samnang and Sok Sam Ouen. ...The charges against the men should now be dropped, allowing the police to resume the search for those really responsible for shooting Chea Vichea in January 2004."
21 August 2009
ABC Radio Australia
Who Killed Chea Vichea? director Bradley Cox comments on the United Nations' call for the Cambodian government to drop the charges against Born Samnnang and Sok Sam Oeun.
Interviewed by ABC Austrialia's Liam Cochrane on August 21, 2009.
Read the transcript
Listen to the audio (Windows Media)
Interviewed by ABC Austrialia's Liam Cochrane on August 21, 2009.
Read the transcript
Listen to the audio (Windows Media)
Labels: press
19 August 2009
A longer wait for justice
Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun appeared on Monday at the Appeals Court, which was under orders from the Supreme Court to re-open the case.
And re-open the case it did. The judge ordered further investigations. While he did not clear Samnang and Sam Oeun of the murder of Chea Vichea, he said they should feel like "free men that can enjoy all their rights."
An observer at the hearing writes:
The Cambodian authorities are in a trap of their own making.
Under international pressure, they convicted two innocent men, as we show in Who Killed Chea Vichea?.
Again under international pressure, they freed those two men (conditionally anyway).
In theory, what should happen now is a real investigation to find the actual killers -- exactly what they tried to avoid by framing Samnang and Sam Oeun five and a half years ago. The fact that the court didn't exonerate them puts an end to any hope of that, if there ever was a hope.
News articles:
Phnom Penh Post (English)
Cambodge Soir (French)
Deutsche Presse Agentur (English)
And re-open the case it did. The judge ordered further investigations. While he did not clear Samnang and Sam Oeun of the murder of Chea Vichea, he said they should feel like "free men that can enjoy all their rights."
An observer at the hearing writes:
We're left with mixed feelings. On one hand, everyone's happy they were not sent to back to jail but realistically that wasn't going to happen. On the other hand, it's now five and half years, and the prosecution has failed to build a case against the two; in any decent country, their charges would have been removed.
It appears the appeals court had to open such a hearing to fulfill the order to re-investigate. If this is true, then I guess the re-investigation will last for roughly a century.
The Cambodian authorities are in a trap of their own making.
Under international pressure, they convicted two innocent men, as we show in Who Killed Chea Vichea?.
Again under international pressure, they freed those two men (conditionally anyway).
In theory, what should happen now is a real investigation to find the actual killers -- exactly what they tried to avoid by framing Samnang and Sam Oeun five and a half years ago. The fact that the court didn't exonerate them puts an end to any hope of that, if there ever was a hope.
News articles:
Phnom Penh Post (English)
Cambodge Soir (French)
Deutsche Presse Agentur (English)
16 August 2009
Appeals court hearing tomorrow
Anxiously awaiting news from the Appeals Court, which is scheduled to re-hear Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun's case tomorrow.
It seems as if the closer the movie gets to being finished, the more the outcome of their case changes. As of now they are free -- we hope the Cambodian government doesn't reverse that.
It seems as if the closer the movie gets to being finished, the more the outcome of their case changes. As of now they are free -- we hope the Cambodian government doesn't reverse that.
10 August 2009
Voice of America
Documentary Probes Chea Vichea’s Murder
From the English-language version of VoA's radio interview in Khmer:
“Who Killed Chea Vichea?,” a new documentary from filmmaker Bradley Cox, screened in Rhode Island last week. ...Rights groups have welcomed the film, claiming it sheds light on the innocence of the two men and the shortage of independence within the court system.
“Evidence in the video will show better that neither of the accused were Chea Vichea’s killers in 2004,” Om Samath, a rights investigator for Licadho who has been following the case, told VOA Khmer last week. “This is a good thing that will push the Appeals Court to seriously look into the case and hopefully be able to bring the real killer for prosecution and give justice to the victims.”
Labels: press
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