Director : Rithy PanhFeature film, DocumentaryProduction language : Nationality : Majority French (Cambodia) French release : 2/11/04 Runtime : 1h 41mn Current status : Released Co-production : Arte France CinémaFrench distribution : Ad Vitam Synopsis S 21 refers to “Monti Santesok S 21,” the main “security office” of Democratic Cambodia of the Khymer Rouge. Nearly 17,000 prisoners where imprisoned, tortured, interrogated and executed there between 1975 and 1979.
Only three of them are still alive.
“S 21, la machine de mort khmère rouge” attempts to understand the mechanisms behind the methodical application of one of the 20th century’s most terrifying ideologies.
For three years, Rithy Panh and his crew undertook a long investigation, interviewing those who managed to escape along with their torturers. They convinced them to return to the former S 21 building, which has now been converted into a genocide museum, to confront the past.
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