A Change of Guard

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Wednesday 23 April 2014

'Cambodian Son' film chronicles poet's story

Masahiro Sugano
Masahiro Sugano -
Masahiro Sugano, director of the film “Cambodian Son,” answers questions during the question-and-answer session after the screening of the film. 

Photo by Nap Poshyananda
April 22, 2014 at 10:36 PM | Esther Yun
The Samuel E. Kelly Ethnic Cultural Center (ECC) Theatre screened “Cambodian Son” and held a question-and-answer session with the director, Masahiro Sugano, on April 22.
“Cambodian Son” captures poet Kosal Khiev’s journey from being a prisoner in America to a prominent poet in Cambodia. The film won its first award from the Center for Asian American Media for “Best Documentary” in San Francisco last month.
Sugano began his educational tour in North America on March 15, and will be visiting San Francisco, Seattle, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia. Sugano and his wife, Anida Yoeu Ali, run Studio Revolt, an independent media lab that produces films, videos, installations, and performance projects. Through the production studio, Sugano and Yoeu Ali said they hope to not only provide a voice for those who are left unrecognized, but also to reconstruct cultural and political norms.
Khiev' story involves many issues, including immigration, deportation, imprisonment, juvenile justice, art as a healing method, and more. The documentary unravels the struggles Khiev faced with being banned from home in the United States, surviving depression from solitary confinement, substance abuse, and finding freedom through poetry.
“I discovered the power that poetry has to change a person’s perspective and outlook,” Khiev said in a statement. “Poetry helps me find a way out of everything I am going through.”
Sugano met Khiev through Yoeu Ali’s friend in June 2011. Khiev shared his life story and shared two spoken-word pieces for Sugano, which sparked the idea and journey of documenting his talent and story.

“Kosal has one of those rare qualities. He has somehow retained the ability to reach the bottom of the sadness in his heart,” Sugano said. “He can cry on stage, he can share the deepest pain that he has. That’s almost a fatal quality in prison because you’re considered weak. If you did that, you wouldn’t survive, but somehow he has managed to survive and actually thrive in prison.”
Khiev was born in Cambodia and was forced to flee to the United States as a 1-year-old refugee. Khiev had joined a gang by the age of 13 and was involved in a shoot-out at 16. As a result, he was convicted of attempted murder and spent the next 14 years in jail. Since Khiev was not a U.S. citizen, he was deported to Cambodia after his release from prison.
During the 14 years of imprisonment, Khiev was able to confront himself through writing out his fears, hopes, dreams, and nightmares. Spoken word became a channel for Khiev to share his story and transform his loneliness, anger, frustration, regrets, and experiences into a poetic form.
With the help of Sugano, the two were able to create spoken word videos to enter into competitions such as the White House’s “What’s Your Story” Video Challenge in 2011. Sugano and Khiev’s video made it as one of the 11 finalists and won the popular vote. In 2012, Khiev was invited to the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad to represent Cambodia with poetry.
“[The film is] a good way to put South East Asia issues in the spotlight,” said Tey Thach, ECC graduate assistant and an attendee. “We hope the audience will be more aware of deportation and immigration issues after watching the film.”
The event was sponsored by the Southeast Asia Center, Jackson School of International Studies, UW/RUPP Social Work Partnership, School of Social Work, Returnee Integration Support Center, Social Workers Asian Pacific Islanders, Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity, and the ECC. 
Reach reporter Esther Yun at news@dailyuw.com. Twitter: @estheryun_

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