Directed by Enrique Sánchez Lansch • Documentary • 2024 • 101 minutes
Chea Samy was a renowned soloist in Cambodia’s royal dance ensemble in the 1930s—and Pol Pot’s foster mother. After marrying his older brother, she raised him as her own until he vanished into the underground. In 1975, like millions of Cambodians, she was forced into labor, only realizing years later that the boy she raised was the Khmer Rouge leader. One of the few dancers to survive, she returned to Phnom Penh to teach, preserving traditional dance. Her student, Sophiline Cheam, now a successful choreographer, explores Cambodia’s past, including Pol Pot’s little-known connection to classical dance.
Up Next in New: Documentaries
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The Soul of the Bossales
Directed by François Perlier • Documentary • 2024 • 81 minutes
The “Bossales” were the African slaves who won the Haitian war of independence. This term now qualifies as a rebellious person, like the protagonists of the film. Charlotte, a human rights defender, Foukifoura, a satirical columnist,...
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Young, Black and Gifted: Diversity at...
Directed by Virginie Plaut, Youcef Khemane • Documentary • 2025 • 58 minutes
At age 20, Guillaume Diop risked his career to sign a manifesto against racism at the Paris Opera. But just three years later, he was named a Danseur Étoile — a star dancer — in the Paris Opera Ballet, one of the world’...
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Kedi
Directed by Ceyda Torun • Documentary • With Sari, Bengü, Aslan Parçasi • 2016 • 80 minutes
Hundreds of thousands of cats roam the metropolis of Istanbul freely. For thousands of years they’ve wandered in and out of people’s lives, becoming an essential part of the communities that make the city...
