Meeting with Pol Pot

{{Infobox film

| name = Meeting with Pol Pot

| image = Meeting with Pol Pot poster.jpg

| caption = Theatrical release poster

| director = Rithy Panh

| screenplay = Rithy Panh
Pierre-Erwan Guillaume

| based_on = When the War Was Over: Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge Revolution
by Elizabeth Becker

| producer = Catherine Dussart
Roger Huang
Justine O.

| starring = Irène Jacob
Grégoire Colin
Cyril Gueï

| cinematography = Aymerick Pilarski

| editing = Matthieu Laclau
Rithy Panh

| music = Marc Marder

| studio = Anupheap Productions
CDP

| distributor = Sophie Dulac Distribution (France)
Westec Media (Cambodia){{Cite web |last=Presse |first=Partenaire |date=2024-08-30 |title=Cambodge & Cinéma: «Rendez-vous avec Pol Pot» en route pour la 97e cérémonie des Oscars |url=https://www.cambodgemag.com/post/cambodge-cin%C3%A9ma-rendez-vous-avec-pol-pot-en-route-pour-la-97e-c%C3%A9r%C3%A9monie-des-oscars |access-date=2024-08-30 |website=Cambodge Mag |language=fr}}

| released = {{Film date|2024|5|16|Cannes|2024|6|5|France|2024|8|9|Cambodia}}

| runtime = 112 minutes

| country = Cambodia
France
Turkey
Taiwan
Qatar

| language = French
Khmer

| budget =

| gross =

}}

Meeting with Pol Pot (French: Rendez-vous avec Pol Pot) is a 2024 drama film co-written and directed by Rithy Panh.{{Cite web |title=Cambodge & Cinéma : «Rendez-vous avec Pol Pot», une démarche nécessaire |url=https://www.cambodgemag.com/post/cambodge-cin%C3%A9ma-rendez-vous-avec-pol-pot-une-d%C3%A9marche-n%C3%A9cessaire |access-date=2024-08-30 |website=Cambodge Mag |date=13 May 2024 |archive-date=2024-08-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240831001022/https://www.cambodgemag.com/post/cambodge-cin%C3%A9ma-rendez-vous-avec-pol-pot-une-d%C3%A9marche-n%C3%A9cessaire |url-status=live }} Starring Irène Jacob, Grégoire Colin and Cyril Gueï.{{Cite web |last=Waxman |first=Sharon |date=2024-05-16 |title=Meeting With Pol Pot Is a Lesson in Genocide |url=https://www.thewrap.com/meeting-with-pol-pot-review-cannes/ |access-date=2024-08-30 |website=TheWrap |language=en-US |archive-date=2024-08-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240830235520/https://www.thewrap.com/meeting-with-pol-pot-review-cannes/ |url-status=live }} It is partially based on real events and on the book When the War Was Over: Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge Revolution by Elizabeth Becker.{{Cite web |last=Adlakha |first=Siddhant |date=2024-05-16 |title=Meeting With Pol Pot Review: Reality Unravels in Rithy Panh's Haunting Historical Fiction |url=https://variety.com/2024/film/reviews/meeting-with-pol-pot-review-rithy-panh-1236005033/ |access-date=2024-08-30 |website=Variety |language=en-US |archive-date=2024-08-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240830235519/https://variety.com/2024/film/reviews/meeting-with-pol-pot-review-rithy-panh-1236005033/ |url-status=live }}

Meeting with Pol Pot had its world premiere at the 77th Cannes Film Festival on 16 May 2024 in the Cannes Premiere section.{{Cite web |last=Ntim |first=Zac |date=2024-04-11 |title=Cannes Film Festival Lineup Set: Competition Includes Coppola, Audiard, Cronenberg, Arnold, Lanthimos, Sorrentino & Abbasi's Trump Movie — Full List |url=https://deadline.com/2024/04/cannes-film-festival-lineup-2024-live-francis-ford-coppola-thierry-fremaux-1235881376/ |access-date=2024-08-30 |website=Deadline |language=en-US |archive-date=2024-05-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240510021739/https://deadline.com/2024/04/cannes-film-festival-lineup-2024-live-francis-ford-coppola-thierry-fremaux-1235881376/ |url-status=live }} The film was selected as the Cambodian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards, but was not nominated.{{cite web |date=August 30, 2024 |title="MEETING WITH POL POT", a film by director Rithy Panh, has been chosen... |url=https://www.facebook.com/COSCawards/posts/pfbid0k1SzmFRZ3iNu81NkiBsJcmtb6P61aDPCbR45bEH58RTUdX59zY9p5vVT6kKp5rwul |access-date=August 30, 2024 |publisher=The Cambodia Oscar Selection Committee (COSC)}}

Synopsis

Democratic Kampuchea (Cambodia) -- 1978. Three French journalists are invited by the Khmer Rouge to conduct an exclusive interview of the regime's leader, Pol Pot. The country seems ideal. But behind the Potemkin village, the Khmer Rouge regime is declining and the war with Vietnam threatens to invade the country. The regime is looking for culprits, secretly carrying out a large scale genocide. Under the eyes of the journalists, the beautiful picture cracks, revealing the horror. Their journey progressively turns into a nightmare. {{Cite web |title=Meeting with Pol Pot {{!}} Rotten Tomatoes |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/meeting_with_pol_pot |access-date=2025-01-03 |website=www.rottentomatoes.com |language=en}}

Cast

Irène Jacob as Lise Delbo
Grégoire Colin as Alain Cariou
Cyril Gueï as Paul Thomas
Bun-Hok Lim as Camarade Sung
Leng Thirith as Somaline Mao
Sovann Nhoeb as Chan
Paov Pitu as Ta Mok
Siden In as Chef d'atelier
Sophourn Has as Ieng Sary
Tithya Nouhem as The interpreter
Sok Sothun as The Old Man
Sokong Heng as Sikoeurn
Rithy Panh as Pol Pot (voice/silhouette) (uncredited) {{Cite web |last=Khan |first=Faizal |date=2024-05-19 |title=Cambodian director Rithy Panh on new doc Meeting With Pol Pot: 'All revolutions have good intentions in the beginning' |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/others/cambodian-director-rithy-panh-on-meeting-with-pol-pot-cannes-film-festival-101716109808873.html |access-date=2024-12-16 |website=Hindustan Times |language=en-EN}}

Release

It had its world premiere on May 16, 2024, at the 77th Cannes Film Festival,{{Cite web |last=Durand |first=Manon |date=2024-05-16 |title=Rendez-vous avec Pol Pot, une fiction au service de la mémoire |url=https://www.festival-cannes.com/2024/rendez-vous-avec-pol-pot-une-fiction-au-service-de-la-memoire/ |access-date=2024-08-30 |website=Festival de Cannes |language=fr-FR}} then was released on June 5, 2024, in French theaters{{Cite web |title=PREMIERE EXCEPTIONNELLE - CANNES 2024 : RENDEZ-VOUS AVEC POL POT de Rithy Panh, suivie d'une rencontre avec le réalisateur |url=https://dulaccinemas.com/portail/article/175287/premiere-exceptionnelle-cannes-2024-rendez-vous-avec-pol-pot-de-rithy-panh-suivie-d-une-rencontre-avec-le-realisateur |access-date=2024-08-30 |website=Dulac Cinémas |language=fr |archive-date=2024-08-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240830235520/https://dulaccinemas.com/portail/article/175287/premiere-exceptionnelle-cannes-2024-rendez-vous-avec-pol-pot-de-rithy-panh-suivie-d-une-rencontre-avec-le-realisateur |url-status=live }} and on August 9, 2024, in Cambodian theaters.{{Cite web |title=«Rendez-vous avec Pol Pot»: le dernier long métrage de Rithy Panh |url=https://lepetitjournal.com/cambodge/rendez-vous-avec-pol-pot-le-dernier-long-metrage-de-rithy-panh-390989 |access-date=2024-08-30 |website=lepetitjournal.com |language=fr |archive-date=2024-08-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240830235519/https://lepetitjournal.com/cambodge/rendez-vous-avec-pol-pot-le-dernier-long-metrage-de-rithy-panh-390989 |url-status=live }}

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 90% of 10 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.8/10.{{Cite web |title=Meeting with Pol Pot {{!}} Rotten Tomatoes |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/meeting_with_pol_pot |access-date=2024-08-30 |website=www.rottentomatoes.com |language=en}}