Strand Releasing has just unveiled the official trailer for Meeting with Pol Pot, a deeply haunting French drama directed by Rithy Panh, known for his powerful cinematic explorations of Cambodian history. Set in 1978, during the height of the Khmer Rouge regime in Democratic Kampuchea (Cambodia), the film promises to be an eye-opening and chilling portrayal of a critical moment in history.
The story revolves around three French journalists who are invited by the Khmer Rouge to conduct an exclusive interview with the regime’s enigmatic and brutal leader, Pol Pot. On the surface, the country appears ideal — a picture-perfect, controlled narrative of a prosperous nation. However, as the journalists delve deeper into the country’s realities, they begin to uncover the horrific truths lying beneath the surface. While the Khmer Rouge regime presents a facade of strength, it is crumbling from within, with war threatening from neighboring Vietnam and the regime's systematic genocide of its own people quietly unfolding. What initially seems like a straightforward journalistic assignment soon spirals into a nightmare, as the beautiful image of Cambodia shatters, revealing the horrors of the regime.
Starring Irène Jacob, Grégoire Colin, and Cyril Gueï, the film draws from Elizabeth Becker’s book When the War Was Over, with the screenplay written by Pierre Erwan Guillaume and Rithy Panh himself. The narrative unfolds as a slowly escalating tension between the journalists’ curiosity and the terrifying truths they are forced to confront, offering a gripping exploration of a nation on the brink of collapse and the horrifying realities of totalitarian rule.
Meeting with Pol Pot is poised to make a significant impact in 2025, offering audiences a poignant reminder of the atrocities committed under the Khmer Rouge and the haunting consequences of political power unchecked. The film’s trailer, already drawing attention for its visceral portrayal of history, suggests an emotionally charged, thought-provoking cinematic experience that will not shy away from the brutal realities of this dark chapter in Cambodia’s past.
Check Out The Trailer:-