Documentary Educational Resources - Filmmaker / Feingold, David A. / All Films

Inside the Khmer Rouge

Wed, 29 Aug 2018 12:45:00 GMT

Inside the Khmer Rouge
Buy Now: $320.00

Inside the Khmer Rouge takes an in-depth look at the history, domination, and current status of the Khmer Rouge (a Communist regime) in Cambodia. The film features revealing interviews with soldiers of both the modern Khmer Rouge and those who fight in opposition. A comprehensive timeline of the regime's five-year occupation in Cambodia is dissected and includes a review of key individuals, ideologies, and locations where devastation hit hardest. Following this, the film takes a look at the effects on the Cambodian citizens upon the retraction of Vietnamese forces.

Inside the Khmer Rouge continues to investigate the current tactics the modern Khmer Rouge implement and their attempts to persuade followers in order to rebuild and expand their regime. Oppositely, local forces or "jungle soldiers" discuss their devices for assuring the destruction and atrocities once caused by the Khmer Rouge never happen again.

Visit Feingold, David A. to see additional products in this category.

K'Sai Chivit

Wed, 29 Aug 2018 11:13:00 GMT

K'Sai Chivit
Buy Now: $295.00

K'Sai Chivit: Threads of Life documents the ancient art form of Khmer silk weaving and its place in Cambodian society today. For over a thousand years, Cambodian weavers have been producing a variety of elegant silks, however current societal hardships Cambodians face have dramatically hindered this production. Organizations like UNESCO have began to take part in the revitalization of Khmer weaving, and have established training programs across the region to increase job opportunities and economic independence.

The film explores the story of Um Lao, an ordinary Cambodian girl who is seeking to improve her life and that of her family. Like many in her situation, improving her craft will lead to a greater opportunity for economic independence and an increase in self-esteem, as well as the successful preservation of this ancient heritage.

The story continues to show Um Lao and her master teacher, as they work side by side and travel from the bustling city to desolate villages, all while maintaining a sense of dignity and dedication that is necessary to revitalize this sacred art.

Suitable for all ages, and those with an interest in Asian Studies, Politics, Art, Class Status, Industry, Rural, Village & Urban Life, Gender Roles, and History.

Visit Feingold, David A. to see additional products in this category.

Life and Death at Preah Vihear

Wed, 29 Aug 2018 06:41:00 GMT

Life and Death at Preah Vihear
Buy Now: $320.00

Life and Death at Preah Vihear explores why two Buddhist countries are fighting in the 21st Century over a Hindu temple from the 11th Century because of a bad French map from the early 20th Century.

Filmed over a five year period in both Thailand and Cambodia, the film uses the conflict over the ancient temple of Preah Vihear (Khmer) / Khao Phra Viharn (Thai) to illuminate current political and cultural tensions between the two countries. In addition, it shows the ways in which the colonial encounter with the West impacted the concept of borders and boundaries of the Southeast Asian state. Finally, it shows the stark political divisions that have split Thailand into "Red Shirts" and "Yellow Shirts", and exposes how the dispute has influenced -- and been influenced by -- Thai internal politics.

The documentary shows the magnificence and mystical symbolism of the temple itself. Using rare archival footage, it places the present dispute in its historical context in both Cambodia and Thailand. It contains interviews with policy makers, scholars and ordinary people on both sides of the border; some of whom see the conflict as senseless, while others are willing to fight to the death. In Cambodia, it shows 'spirit warriors' of an ancient general being mobilized through trance to defend the country. In Thailand, both Red Shirts and Yellow Shirts are filmed, as are the street demonstrations and fierce fighting that has periodically erupted.

The film includes the most recent Thai military coup, and concludes by examining the impact of this seizure of power on issues along the border.

“David Feingold's Life and Death at Preah Vihear is a valuable work of art, culture, and history. The evenhanded and yet straightforward approach to a contentious border dispute is quite rare. It delves sympathetically but carefully into the rich cultural and political histories of both Cambodia and Thailand, and their differential experiences with French colonialist frontier-making. This is another very professional Feingold film, and a fine teaching resource.”
— Ben Kiernan, Chair, Council on Southeast Asia Studies, Yale University, author of How Pol Pot Came to Power, and The Pol Pot Regime.

“This compelling documentary conveys how maps, senses of place and time, sovereignty, and religion are drawn into on-going struggles about the contested location of Preah Vihear Temple - Cambodia or Thailand. Using historical and contemporary sources, experts and ordinary citizens, the film offers multiple perspectives and insights into how borders and sentiments about them are implicated in domestic and international politics in surprising, and devastating ways, that continue into the present. Highly relevant to area studies, the films would add to courses on memory, politics, place, and religion. The film raises important questions for anthropology and cultural studies.”
— Bambi B. Schieffelin, Collegiate Professor, Professor, Anthropology, New York University

Visit Feingold, David A. to see additional products in this category.

A Right to Belong

Tue, 28 Aug 2018 08:59:00 GMT

A Right to Belong
Buy Now: $275.00

While once a dormant issue in Thailand, the inability to gain citizenship has developed into a problem that affects over 400,000 people in its low-income mountain regions. Recognizing citizenship among a nation is a basic human right, however the people of the mountain region - referred to as "Hill Tribes" - are facing a crisis that has led to the growth of trafficking of woman and children.

In A Right to Belong, various Hill Tribe individuals discuss their personal experiences in attempts to gain citizenship, as well as explain how their communities as a whole have suffered. Some effects caused by the lack of citizenship have been the inability to receive health care, register marriages, and participate in politics. Organizations such as UNESCO have begun to aid in the development of the Highland Citizenship Registration Project to assist in granting citizenship, and jointly stop trafficking. Additionally, this short film explores the progression and implementation of this program, and the hope that many have for the future.

Visit Feingold, David A. to see additional products in this category.

Return to Year Zero?

Tue, 28 Aug 2018 08:59:00 GMT

Return to Year Zero?
Buy Now: $295.00

Return to Year Zero? focuses on Cambodia as the 10th anniversary of the fall of the Khmer Rouge (a Communist regime) approaches. As the Vietnamese prepare to pull out of the country after its 10-year stay to help secure and rebuild Cambodia, a high level of uncertainty and danger remains. The film takes a look into the villages and urban areas of Cambodia, drawing parallels to life during the Khmer Rouge and in the present. With streets once desolate and terror overgrown, Cambodia has finally begun to revitalize, as business and life return.

Danger still remains, however, as threats of remaining Pol Pot supporters loom and landmines still exist in the quiet, rural fields, injuring innocent civilians daily. Return to Year Zero? features interviews with those most effected by the Khmer Rouge and its fallout, and delve into shared concerns of citizens as they struggle between rebuilding their lives in Cambodia or fleeing the country in search for a new sense of security. Weaved into this distressing story are images of a country filled with breathtaking landscapes, a culture featuring dance and the arts, and an in-depth look at a society that still stands tall.

Suitable for all ages, and those with an interest in Asian Studies, Conflict and/or War, Politics, Rural, Village & Urban Life, Gender Roles, and History.

Visit Feingold, David A. to see additional products in this category.

Silent Sentinels, Coward's War

Tue, 28 Aug 2018 07:46:00 GMT

Silent Sentinels, Coward's War
Buy Now: $320.00

In a post-Khmer Rouge society, Cambodia still continues to fight with the ghosts of war. The dominance of landmines throughout rural villages remains a lingering danger and daily threat to the lives of innocent civilians. This issue has spread to become a widespread crisis, as over one thousand people across the globe are killed each month due to landmines. Even as war in the effected areas is in the past, these poverty-stricken regions remain helpless in a struggle with the "toxic waste of war."

Silent Sentinels, Coward's War features interviews with the civilians who have experienced death and amputation firsthand. These individuals are not the soldiers the weapons are intended to harm; they are mothers, fathers, and children. The film also includes interviews with the contemporary Khmer Rouge soldiers aiming to "liberate" Cambodia, as they continue to employ mines in new locations and discuss their combat tactics. Only recently have certain organizations come to the aid of countries facing the issue of landmine removal. These organizations, however, tend to focus mainly on the wealthier countries (such as Kuwait) that can afford to support the process of mine deactivation.

Silent Sentinels, Coward's War is an important, informative film that provides a voice for the thousands of innocent people who have been tormented, displaced, and killed due to landmines. Suitable for students in middle-school and up, and those with an interest in Asian Studies, Conflict and/or War, Politics, Rural, Village & Urban Life, Gender Roles, and History.

Visit Feingold, David A. to see additional products in this category.

Small Targets

Tue, 28 Aug 2018 07:46:00 GMT

Small Targets
Buy Now: $320.00

As Mozambique emerges from a past filled with civil war, the threat of landmines indefinitely remains. Amidst a country where a variety of devastating economic and health concerns take top priority, de-mining programs are generally unfunded and minimal.

Small Targets: Children and Landmines in Mozambique explores this issue and how it directly effects the most innocent of citizens: the children. In Mozambique alone, there are an estimated ten people killed or injured by landmines each week, and many of the victims are children. As landmines are undetectable without proper equipment and training, the risk of detonation is constant and inescapable.

The film features interviews with those directly affected by landmines, including a visit to amputee rehabilitation centers and to schools. There is also a brief overview of the different types of mines that remain in the fields of Mozambique and how each kind works. While Small Targets features a view specific to Mozambique, commentary from individuals throughout the world prove that this alarming issue continues to affect many helpless civilians across the globe.

Suitable for high school students, and those with an interest in African Studies, Conflict and/or War, Politics, Rural and Village Life, and History.

Visit Feingold, David A. to see additional products in this category.

Trading Women

Mon, 27 Aug 2018 08:57:00 GMT

Trading Women
Buy Now: $320.00

Trading Women enters the worlds of brothel owners, trafficked girls, voluntary sex workers, corrupt police and anxious politicians. Filmed in Burma, China, Laos, and Thailand, this is the first film to follow the trade in women in all its complexity and to consider the impact of this 'far away' problem on the global community.

Narrated by Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie, the documentary investigates the trade in minority girls and women from the hill tribes of Burma, Laos, and China, into the Thai sex industry. Filmed on location in China, Thailand, and Burma, Trading Women follows the trade of women in all its complexity, entering the worlds of brothel owners, trafficked girls, voluntary sex-workers, corrupt police and anxious politicians. The film also explores the international community's response to the issue.

The culmination of five years of field research, Trading Women is the first film to demonstrate to viewers the relationship of the trade in drugs to the trade of women. The film dispels common beliefs about the sex trade, such as: "The problem is the parents - it's part of their culture to sell their daughters;" "The sex trade exists because of Western sex tours;" and "They sell their girls for TV's."

"We take the audience behind the tourist tales and stereotyped news coverage to reveal the reality behind the myths," said director David A. Feingold. "We show how much of what the audience thinks they know about the issue is much more complex than they imagined."

Thirty years ago, there was a thriving sex industry in Thailand, but there were no minority girls in it - what happened? The film cites the destruction of the traditional upland economy by a combination of well-meaning development and opium suppression programs in Thailand, and civil unrest, economic dislocation, and political repression in Burma as the answer to this question. These environmental and political factors have resulted in threats to both the physical and cultural survival of the highland minorities. Today, while hill tribe girls are perhaps thirty percent of the total number of sex workers in Thailand, they are disproportionately represented relative to their total numbers in the population. Moreover, they are employed in the lowest, most exploitative part of the industry.

Trading Women examines the choices that hill tribe women make, and how these choices are constrained by the economic and political conditions in which they find themselves. The documentary explores how the politics of Burma determines the supply of women to the sex industry in Thailand and how the lack of citizenship for hill tribe women puts them at a greater risk for trafficking.

Trading Women also addresses the international response to the issue. "We find that it is an issue that, in the words of one United Nations official generates 'far more heat, than light'," said Feingold. The United States has passed a law that would block World Bank loans or other non-humanitarian aid to any country that does not meet America's minimum standards for combating trafficking. "Some believe this might be counter-productive - bringing little help to the victims and pushing the problem further underground," said Feingold.

Trading Women conveys that this is not a simple issue with simple answers. It is an issue that affects the futures not only of young tribal women, but also of their communities.

SELECTED SCREENINGS & AWARDS

16th IUAES World Congress, China, 2009

Visit Feingold, David A. to see additional products in this category.

Waiting for Cambodia

Fri, 24 Aug 2018 12:26:00 GMT

Waiting for Cambodia
Buy Now: $320.00

Since the fall of the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime in 1979, Cambodia has struggled to find its uniqueness and rebuild its society. Waiting For Cambodia features interviews and discussions with a variety of citizens, many of who represent a face of change and hope, and many who remain dedicated to the Khmer Rouge ideology. Images of cultural beauty are displayed through ritualistic dance and song, serving as a powerful accompaniment to the rough images of conflict. The attempts to regain culture, individual rights, and freedom are prevalent themes within the film, and footage of Cambodian relief camps and liberation organizations are displayed as efforts of change.

Regardless, the plight to re-create a sense of identity has been rough, as global support has been minimal. Ninety percent of Cambodians are considered to be displaced persons, and many camps are limited in resources and overcrowded. Many questions continue to plague Cambodia, and the lack of a positive leader may prove to be the heart of the issue. In a time where a country's individuality is on the line, Waiting For Cambodia explores the highs and lows of the Cambodian dilemma, and the various paths to travel in order to regain its identity.

Suitable for students in middle school and up, and those with an interest in Asian Studies, Conflict and/or War, Politics, Rural, Village & Urban Life, Gender Roles, and History.

Visit Feingold, David A. to see additional products in this category.

Washington/Peru We Ain't Winning!

Fri, 24 Aug 2018 12:26:00 GMT

Washington/Peru We Ain't Winning!
Buy Now: $275.00

In Washington/Peru: We Ain't Winning!, producer David Feingold and director Shari Robertson investigate the situation in Peru in the early 1990s - a case that, according to one U.S. congressman, "defies all description and solution." Internal conflict rages between the government and Shining Path communist guerillas, while the United States military attempts to eradicate coca production in the countryside.

Congressional hearings raise the question of who is winning the "War on Drugs." Accurate measurements of cocaine production are non-existent, and drug traffickers have moved crops into remote areas to avoid interference. Meanwhile, interviews with peasant farmers show that growing coca is their only viable economic option.

Shining Path guerillas provide protection to farmers while trying to gain power in urban areas through frightening acts of violence. President Fujimori depends heavily on a military police force guilty of human rights violations. Congress wonders how exactly the United States should be involved, while Andean peasants suffer persecution and extreme poverty.

Suitable for those with an interest in Latin American Studies, Drugs and Development, U.S. Foreign Policy and War and/or Conflict.

Visit Feingold, David A. to see additional products in this category.