“Pol Pot Dancing” frames the long reach and heavy weight of history through the multigenerational lineage of classical Cambodian dance. Chea Samy, a star dancer at the Cambodian royal court, lovingly raises her husband’s little brother as her own son, who she later discovers has become the Khmer Rouge’s violent leader, Pol Pot. As one of the only dancers to survive the regime’s brutal genocide, Samy returns to Phnom Penh determined to preserve the knowledge of traditional dance. One of her first pupils, Sophiline Cheam, continues to bear this lineage by teaching and choreographing historically relevant, site-specific dances for a classical Cambodian dance ensemble. Archival and contemporary footage trace the transformative resilience of these culture bearers as they channel embodied memory toward historical redemption.
“Pol Pot Dancing” received SFDFF’s 2024 Best Documentary Feature Film award.
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