As of Friday, it looks like the unions are still going ahead with tomorrow's public screening. Watch this space for updates.
From the Phnom Penh Post:

Cambodian Confederation of Unions (CCU) President Rong Chhun says he will hold an outdoor screening of a controversial documentary about slain labour leader Chea Vichea on Saturday’s Labour Day holiday, despite not having received permission from government officials to do so.

...Under the Kingdom’s new Demonstration Law, passed last year, government authorities may “take actions to cease” any unauthorised demonstrations or public gatherings.

Ministry of Interior spokesman Khieu Sopheak on Thursday called the film an “illegal import”. When asked how the government would respond to an unauthorised screening, he said to “wait and see on Saturday”.

Full story: Chea Vichea film to be shown

Rong Chhun said he will adopt a "nonviolent" posture in case of police repression during the screening.

Full story (Cambodge Soir): Affaire Chea Vichea : projection à haut risque
English translation

Labels: news, press

Wow, that was fast. We've only just completed the public TV version of Who Killed Chea Vichea?, and already a group of Cambodian unions plans to show it. In Cambodia, where it counts most. Their aim is to highlight the government's failure to conduct a real investigation of the murder.

What's really impressive is that they plan to screen it in public, this Saturday after their traditional Labor Day march, in the park near the spot where Vichea was killed. Given the Cambodian government's track record, they're taking a big risk. 
See the Phnom Penh Post: Group to Screen Vichea Film

Is the Cambodian government committed to respecting human rights? This screening will put the government to the test. We're told the authorities initially said that the Ministry of Interior would have to see the film first to clear it. We at Loud Mouth Films don't approve of prior censorship, so we wouldn't have agreed to that. But Phnom Penh Governor Kep Chuktema now says the city will not approve the screening because the film “has no license from related ministries.”

See Voice of America: Authorities Ban Screening of Chea Vichea Film

If the union organizing committee decides to go ahead with a public screening, without permission, we don't know what what will happen.

As filmmakers we believe that all people who want to see a film should be able to see it, with no prior censorship and without consideration of its political content. Especially when it comes to Cambodians being able to see this film. That doesn't necessarily mean the city government is obliged to agree that any film can be screened on any public property at any time -- just that they have to treat all films equally without regard to politics. Any government that denies its own citizens freedom of information cannot be called a democracy.

We'll do our best to keep you updated here on our blog, and we'll let you know if there's anything you can do to help.

We take great pride in the fact that the union organizers in Cambodia think this film is so important. We hope that that Saturday proceeds peacefully, and that the rights of the Cambodian people are respected.

Labels: press

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Jim Luce of the Huffington Post interviews Brad and Rich about Who Killed Chea Vichea? and I daresay our comments are very smart. Also, he calls the film "gripping" and "deeply moving." We couldn't agree more.

Read it here

Labels: press, reviews

Great article about Who Killed Chea Vichea? published in The Phnom Penh Post today!

CHEA Vichea spent the morning playing with his daughter, studying his Khmer-English dictionary and plucking his moustache before deciding to leave his Phnom Penh home and pick up a copy of the day’s newspaper.

“I watched him from the balcony as he left,” Chea Vichea’s wife, Chea Kimny, tells director Bradley Cox. “I got up and went to the kitchen. Suddenly, I felt like something kicked me in the chest.”

Cox arrived at the newsstand outside Chamkarmon district’s Wat Lanka just minutes after Chea Vichea was gunned down on January 22, 2004, and his footage from the scene makes for some of the most powerful moments of his new documentary, Who Killed Chea Vichea? ...

Read the rest

Labels: press

Thanks to Theary Seng for her posting on Who Killed Chea Vichea?, which she calls a "brilliant, excellent, high-quality film." Theary is an author, columnist and former Center for Social Development director (web site) who has dedicated her life to peace and justice in Cambodia.

Labels: reviews

Labels: festivals, screenings