Exile endeavours to recreate and make sense of the experience of those thrown out of the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh with the arrival of Pol Pot’s troops. Cambodian filmmaker Rithy Panh, along with his family, were among the exiled and his work since has been continually inspired with the mission to transcend history. Unfolding in a dreamlike mix of performance, philosophical monologue, cultural text recital and archival footage, Exile flits between theatrical surrealism and clear-eyed condemnation as it burrows towards the core of Cambodia’s incomprehensible genocide. Exile is also an attempt at elucidation on the part of a boy who lived in Democratic Kampuchea and the man he becomes who cannot accept injustice.
The Asia Pacific Screen Academy expresses its respect for and acknowledgement of the South East Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. We pay our respects to the Traditional Owners of country, including the custodial communities on whose land works are created and celebrated by the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. We acknowledge the continuing connection to land, waters and communities. We also pay our respects to Elders, past and present. We recognise the integral role Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and First Nations peoples continue to play in storytelling and celebration spaces.
