Rithy Panh's 'The Missing Picture' Wins Un Certain Regard at Cannes

Rithy Panh's film 'The Missing Picture' won the Un Certain Regard prize at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. The film is the latest in a series beginning with 'Site 2' (1989) that examines Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge regime (1975-1979). Panh uses clay figurines and miniature sets to reconstruct his childhood memories, as no photographic evidence exists of the forced evacuation of Phnom Penh in April 1975 or the labor camps. The film combines these handmade models with propaganda footage, archival clips, and a voiceover by actor Randal Douc. Panh, who lost his parents and siblings to the regime, worked as a gravedigger as a child. The figurines are made from earth, which Panh connects to the Khmer Rouge slogan 'bodies make excellent fertilizer.' The film also references the Apollo 11 moon landing as a source of escape for the young Panh. Co-written with Christophe Bataille, the film is a coproduction of CDP, ARTE France, and Bophana Production, and aired on ARTE on October 9, 2013. Sculptures were created by Sarith Mang. The review was written by Félix Rehm, a former student of the École normale supérieure and Paris III, then a trainee at La Fémis.