About this event

Perched along the Dangrek Mountains, Preah Vihear Temple carries dual weight - a symbol of Khmer identity and resilience, and the center of a long-running border dispute with Thailand rooted in conflicting French colonial maps. This evening brings together three documentaries to unpack that history: Life and Death at Preah Vihear (David Feingold, 2014, 51 min), Invasion or Misunderstanding (Phana Cheng, 2011, 40 min), and Ghost Mountain: The Second Killing Fields of Cambodia (Virginia Lynch Dean & James Taing, 2025, 35 min). Together, they trace the conflict's human, political and historical dimensions, from the violence following the temple's 2011 UNESCO inscription, through the 2013 International Court of Justice ruling, to renewed skirmishes in 2025. The screenings also revisit the 1979 "Preah Vihear Pushback," when more than 40,000 Cambodian refugees were forced into landmine-filled ravines along the mountains. With the border still contested and heavily militarized, the evening offers space to reflect on Preah Vihear's history, memory and continued significance for Cambodia.