The Strongman and the Last Days of the Khmer Rouge (documentary film screening)

In his late teens, Hun Sen was originally recruited into the Khmer Rouge as a guerrilla fighter. Later he defected and fought with the Vietnamese invaders.

Hun Sen was first distinguished as Foreign Minister before rising to dominate the Cambodian political stage as Prime Minister from 1985 to 2023. He spearheaded the country’s stabilisation after the dark years of the Khmer Rouge and has led the CPP political party to a series of consecutive and contentious election victories, cementing power as he oversaw Cambodia’s political and economic development throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. However his regime has been accused of corruption and human rights violations.

The Strongman and the Last Days of the Khmer Rouge presents a fascinating insight into how Hun Sen has wielded political power. This story is told via in-depth interviews with Hun Sen and his colleagues and political adversaries. The film draws upon filmmaker James Gerrand’s own archive of footage, shot in Cambodia over the past 40 years. It is a a revealing portrait – revealing of the Strongman’s principal character traits, his political savvy and capacity for both charm and ruthlessness.

Duration: 1 hour 50 mins
Year of Completion: 2025
Director, Writer, Producer: James Gerrand
Associate Producer: Ding Gerrand
Assistant Producer: Tian Gerrand
Editor: Walter McIntosh
Narrator: Stuart Littlemore

Film director, discussant & chair biographies

James Gerrand is an independent filmmaker and journalist. He has contributed to various publications in the past including Far Eastern Economic Review, Bangkok Post, The Australian, Nation Review, National Times, and Asian Wall Street Journal. During the 1970s and 80s he filmed & produced news & current affairs reports for Visnews Ltd (UK for worldwide syndication), CBS (America), ABC (America), ABC (Australia), and SBS-TV (Australia).

Following Mekong Downstream, James based himself in Phnom Penh soon after the outbreak of the war that eventually brought Pol Pot to power. He began his first news filming of the war as a stringer for Visnews and CBS (America). From this intense involvement in the Cambodian tragedy came his seminal documentary study Khmer! Khmer! Cambodia in Conflict (1972).

Since then his commitment to filming and documenting every major twist and turn in Cambodia’s tortured history has never waned. Returning to the region every year since the fall of Pol Pot in 1979, he has worked independently to produce his landmark documentaries Cambodia, the Prince & the Prophecy (1986), Cambodia Kampuchea (1987) and The Last God-King (1996) which still stand as the clearest, most penetrating film studies available that delve to the roots to the Cambodian conflicts.

In previous years James has filmed & produced occasional current affairs reports for SBS TV’s Dateline while working on his own independent productions. In a major departure from documentary he was a co-producer for Doan Minh Phuong’s Vietnamese feature film Bride of Silence.

Discussant TBC

Prof. John Sidel is Director of the Saw Swee Hock Southeast Asia Centre, and the Sir Patrick Gillam Professor of International and Comparative Politics at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

*Banner photo by Norbert Braun on Unsplash

LSE holds a wide range of events, covering many of the most controversial issues of the day, and speakers at our events may express views that cause offence. The views expressed by speakers at LSE events do not reflect the position or views of the London School of Economics and Political Science.