WATCHING JUSTICE IN MOTION: TRIAL FILMS AT THE EXTRAORDINARY CHAMBERS IN THE COURTS OF CAMBODIA
1. Background to the Project
The East-West Center (EWC) and UC Berkeley War Crimes Studies Center (BWCSC), in a collaboration known as the Asian International Justice Initiative (AIJI), have organized the production of a series of pre-trial films for Cambodians that provides an independent dialogue about the rationale behind the ECCC and the role played by its key actors. Four films (and possibly five) are planned in what has come to be known as the “Time For Justice” series, with funds provided by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office through the British Embassy, Phnom Penh. The films are created by a local film production company, Khmer Mekong Films (KMF), under contract to EWC. The films’ central characters are fictional members of a typical Cambodian family, the parents of which want their children to know about the Khmer Rouge period and to understand the ECCC. The films are educational and entertaining and pitched at ordinary Cambodians living in the provinces of Cambodia.
II. Development
In the early stages of production, the first pre-trial film was subjected to rigorous focus group review. It was shown to 25 focus groups of 200 people (8 per group) at 6 locations across the country. With a representation broadly representative of the Cambodian population, we explored the effect of the film on Cambodians, checked for significant differences in reaction area to area, found out if they learned new information, probed if it raised interest in the forthcoming trials, discovered that it encouraged discussion about the KR regime and trials, and informed ourselves about the style/format/substance for subsequent films and how to show the series of films.
III. Films and Outreach
The first two pre-trial films are now circulating in Cambodia. In the first film, “What Did They Do?” the parents (who are actual survivors) tell their children about their harrowing experiences during the Khmer Rouge years. In the second, “How Will They Be Held To Account?” the family visits the ECCC buildings to see the pre-trial chamber, courtroom, and detention facility, and talks with a judge and prosecution and defense officials to get a better understanding of what the process is all about. The third film, now in production, aims to make the least understood part of the pre-trial process, the confidential proceedings before the Co-Investigating Judges, more transparent and comprehensible to the Cambodia public. Towards this end, the Co-investigating Judges have agreed to allow us to use redacted footage from their confidential proceedings and to provide commentary and interviews for the film. The fourth film will provide more details about upcoming trials once indictments have been served. A fifth film is under consideration. It would look at victims’ participation in the proceedings (as civil parties joined in an action against the accused persons) and explain the process through which Cambodians can bring an action against an accused at the ECCC.
Click below to watch a short clip summary of the first two films on the ECCC:
IV. Public Response
Films 1 and 2 have aired on Cambodian television several times since July 2007, and are being shown in community outreach forums and distributed widely by our local NGO partner, the Center for Social Development, Cambodia (CSD), under contract to EWC1.As Dissemination Coordinator for the “Time for Justice” series, CSD has responsibility to ensure widespread public circulation and discussion of the films through Cambodian NGO networks. So far, CSD has engaged three NGO partners to screen the films in eleven of Cambodia’s twenty-four provinces and is in discussions with additional NGOs to ensure broad dissemination2. It has also engaged Phnom Penh university student volunteers to facilitate dissemination and discussion of the films.
Click here to view pictures from the film screenings and community discussions
1 So far, the first film has aired six times on two different television stations within Cambodia (on networks CTN and TVK), as well as once internationally for the Cambodian diaspora in Australia, France and America (on CTN International). The second film has aired eight times within Cambodia (CTN and TVK) and twice internationally (CTN International).
2 The films are slated to be shown by partner NGOs in Phnom Penh, Kampong Cham, Kampong Chnang, Kandal, Kampong Speu, Kampong Thom, Svay Rieng, Kratie, Battambang, Kompot and Siem Reap. The films have already been shown in public forums by CSD in Kampong Thom, Kep, Svay Rieng, Battambang and Phnom Penh.
