Between Forgiveness and Testimony

Vann Nath and the reminiscent images of the Cambodian’s genocide

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15448/1980-3729.2023.1.42898

Keywords:

Reminiscent Images, Testimony, Forgiveness

Abstract

This article brings some philosophical conceptions about forgiveness and testimony closer to the filmic experience of Vann Nath, a painter and survivor of the Cambodian genocide perpetrated by the Khmer Rouge between 1975 and 1979. The Khmer Rouge Death Machine (2003), by Rithy Pahn, whose narrative proposes a confrontation between executioners and victims all exposed equally, without pre-judgments. In the work, the figure of Vann Nath gives life to the impossible: a face-to-face gesture of forgiveness and reconciliation with the perpetrators. S21 thematizes Nath's paintings, reminiscent images understood here as marks of witness to the genocide, as they uniquely portray the torture and violations imposed on Cambodian citizens taken prisoner at that time; but not only that, they update, in the present, the confrontation with the genocide that is unforgettable, (un)forgivable.

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Author Biographies

Ricardo Lessa Filho, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais

PhD in Communication from the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), in Recife, PE, Brazil; Master in Communication from the same university. Postdoctoral fellow (with CNPq grant) in the Graduate Program in Communication at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), in Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.

Frederico Vieira, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais

PhD in Social Communication from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), in Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil; Master in Communication from the same university. Public Relations Manager for the Legislative Assembly of Minas Gerais, in Belo Horzionte, MG, Brazil.

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Published

2023-06-13

How to Cite

Lessa Filho, R., & Vieira, F. (2023). Between Forgiveness and Testimony: Vann Nath and the reminiscent images of the Cambodian’s genocide. Revista FAMECOS, 30(1), e42898. https://doi.org/10.15448/1980-3729.2023.1.42898

Issue

Vol. 30 No. 1 (2023): Single Volume

Section

Movie

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