One of the saddest places I've ever visited is the Museum of the former Toul Sleng Prison (code name S-21) in Cambodia. From 1975 to 1979, at the height of Pol Pot's reign of terror, around 15,000 people were sent to the notorious prison. Only eight people are known to have walked out alive. One of the most haunting aspects of the prison are the thousands of ID photos taken of the innocent men, women and children before being killed by the Khmer Rouge.
A new film documentary 'The Conscience of Nhem En'. about the young soldier who took the photos has recently been made by Steven Okazaki. It has also been nominated for an Academy Award for short documentary. It is the director's fourth nomination. Nhem En says he was just one cog in the wheel obeying orders. And that is essentially what the film explores: conscience and complicity, how would you answer the question, "What would you do?"
This is the filmmaker's fourth Oscar nomination. In 1985, his Unfinished Business was nominated for Best Feature Documentary. In 1990, he won an Oscar for his short documentary Days of Waiting, the story of Estelle Ishigo, a Caucasian interned with Japanese Americans during World War II. In 2005, he was nominated for The Mushroom Club, which looks at the city and people of Hiroshima sixty years after the atomic bombing.
To learn more about Steven Okazaki click here
To see some of the photos of S-21 visit my website here
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