About - Audience Response
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"I've just finished watching your film and had to email you right away. Wow! I don¹t know where to start... I'm exhausted. It was really moving and personal. Thank you so much. I feel like I should be really thanking you...Perhaps for sharing something so personal.
Your parents are really nice Socheata. Very funny. And you portrayed them with so much love and respect. I watched it with my mum and we cried all over the place. Also, she told me it was much better than our film and I should make one like that! Its definitely got her seal of approval!"  -Paul TaylorDirector, WE ARE TOGETHER Rise Films London, UK "Congratulations to you on such a personal beautiful hommage to love and family and healing. Your film is a testament to the grace and spirit of the young man you now know as your father and strength of the young woman you must be so proud to call your mother. What courageous people....Your film is the kind of gift a parent could only dream of....and the kind that only love could bring to life." -Patty Kim Director, ABDUCTION: The Megumi Yokota Story Safari Media Washington, D.C. We got a full page write up about the [Cambodian language version of NEW YEAR BABY] in the Phnom Penh Post. The author was very impressed as it was the first time he had seen a movie that wasn't just focused on blood, gore and body counts as many documentaries about Cambodia are.
We had a huge response from the expat community including many who bought their Khmer partners to see the Khmai version. We have also had many people book out of hours private screenings to watch the movie including one yesterday from a French national who brings every visitor he has over to watch it! I think he has seen it 8-10 times now!! ... After the movie, Khmais head straight to a quiet corner and sit quietly for a while mulling it over.
- Martin Robinson
Founder, The Flicks in Phnom Penh
I was so touched by the film... I continue to be amazed by how well and how beautifully you got to the quick of the matter. I really could see "love," "joy," and "pardon" shine through the whole production and it really did make all the difference... it was intensely human and filled with soul. The effect was enormous and... captured the universal element of the bigger picture. -Greg Anderson  New Haven, CT"Congratulations on an incredible film. My husband and I recently went to the Sedona Film Festival where we saw your film. We were mesmerized. What a powerful story and one that should be told over and over. Your parents are true heroes and so are you for telling their story. I can honestly tell you that there wasn't a dry eye in the house. So thank you for sharing your family's history and good luck with your future projects."  -Melissa BrownPrescott, Arizona "I laughed. I cried, all the things you expect from a great documentary." -Debby Zimmerman Exec. Director, Women Make Movies. NY, NY "I wanted to write and say how touching I found your film... It is an excellent piece of work, and I particularly admired the way you succeeded in making such a personal film so immediate and compelling, without sentimentalizing your subject. For a directorial debut, you must be very proud!" -James Anderson Filmmaker, PostFilms Santa Barbara, CA "I loved it. All of it...It is amazing how violent regimes can silence an entire cohort of tortured victims, but the healing can only begin when the silence is broken...you guys are amazing" -Leslie Liao NY, NY "I was completly & thoroughly moved. The honesty and love within your family was heart warming. Your Dad is a  hero not only to you and your sisters and mom but will be to the world as he is to me."-Bill Paglia Scheff Middletown, CT "It is such a heartwarming family story, made out of such a brutal historcial moment. I can't describe to you how much I enjoyed the film." -Mathew Gerry NY, NY "All I can say is Wow. I laughed, I cried, I learned." -Joe Raby NY, NY "This story is amazing. It is remarkable because it shows how love & family can help you survive anything... I have no words. It is all too much to take in. It gives you hope." -Kymberly Stewart Brooklyn, NY  "Just Wonderful! A film that can give so much. I am touched, moved and inspired. There are many lessons in the film." -Litsa Ibrahim Woodside, NY "I laughed, felt a part of your journey, your family and the people of Cambodia and I was moved to tears several times. So poignant, so authentic and moving. Thank you for who you are for your family and the world." -Barbara Frankel North Hills, NY "Absolutly beautiful!... Absolutly moving, full of love!" -Tina Tsitlakidis-Biris Astoria, NY I am absolutely mesmerized by what you have accomplished with this film. I just saw it and I cannot stop reviewing the  poignancy of the piece.-Erica Ysbrand Dallas, TX "This was a powerful corageous work of life and art and heart. I was humbled and deeply moved by every interaction between people and people, people and the land, people and memories, people and history, and people and their own hearts. Thank you for this profound gift." -Jennifer Watt NY, NY "I am awed by this film. The beauty of love and forgiveness is folded into the beauty and truth of the film itself... This is an important film for the world." -Linda Ruocco NY, NY  It was stunning - in all ways! … The movie was far more compelling than I had expected and I was expecting a lot! Myfriend was speechless after the showing and couldn't thank me enough for including her. I look forward to following the success of this documentary all the way to the Academy Awards. Bravo to all of you.-Marty Corley NY, NY "I am very impressed with the artful, thoughtful construction of this film and the powerful emotional journey that it took me on! It is refreshingly authentic and deeply insightful into the process of unearthing painful memories and moving beyond them to a state of healing." -Nisma Zaman Int. Center for Transitional Justice NY, NY What an amazing film! The audience was very moved by it. I later spoke with several film goers and discussed your film, again, everyone I talked to loved it! Congratulations on such a successful film. -Nan Avant Sedona, AZ It truly is a remarkable film, an incredibly powerful retelling of the Cambodian genocide in terms of an individual  family. Never maudlin, always sensitive, it could very well have an extraordinary influence on a generation of young Cambodians who have not yet come to terms personally with their history. We felt tremendously lucky to have been able to attend this showing.-Cov Davis & Robin Hinch Santa Ana, CA I just wanted to let you know that I think your film is absolutely amazing! ... I am Cambodian American - in fact, I'm the only one in my family that was born in the U.S. I have an older sister who survived the devastating genocide and this film has allowed me to get a glimpse of the horrors that she faced. I now can understand why she sometimes distances herself from me and I understand why she sometimes bursts into tears. I am able to show more compassion towards her and perhaps be a better sibling. Your film really touched my heart. I was moved by how determined you were to learn more about where you came from. I just want to say that it was so inspiring to see a young Cambodian female really make a difference in the lives of others. The future is definitely looking brighter! I look forward to New Year Baby arriving on dvd. I would LOVE to show this film to my whole family! -Victoria Huon L.A., CA It is a very powerful film and I personally believe that it is by far the best documentary I experienced this year. I just want to thank you for your great/brave efforts to make it happens. I truly believe that everyone should see it. -Catherine Jin NY, NY  I really wanted to write and thank you for your wonderful film. I had the opportunity to watch it last night at the Phnom Penh Refugee Festival. The theater was packed beyond capacity with not even standing room left. The film is so emotive and beautiful, the audience was unified through it. A truly moving, captivating and superb documentary that goes into my top three documentaries of all time.-Monika Nowaczyk Phnom Penh, Cambodia Went to the final day of the UNHCR Refugee Film Fest last night to see New Year Baby again! I got there about 15 minutes before the film started and got The LAST seat in the whole theater! (People sat everywhere they could on the floor).... my friends and I raved about it again afterwards. And it's helped me remember the meaning of the place where I currently live. -Annie Perng Phnom Penh, Cambodia Well, Jo and I laughed and cried our way through Socheata's story tonight. All the way to the last scene. What an extraordinary rendering of the family story... it is artistically beautiful, and from the deep love and care... Jo says it makes her want to treat her own family differently and better... It will sit with us awhile - this film... I'd rate it the most personally moving documentary I've seen. -Chris Gilbert Boston, MA The film was magnificent. I loved it and also fell in love with Socheata's family...  -Kim Ferdinando NY, NY My grandmother and I watched ... It really is a superb program,... A real gem. We give it two enthusiastic thumbs up. You tell a compelling story very simply and creatively. And the characters are priceless! Every scene was increasingly more touching. I can see why it’s won so many awards. My grandmother was fascinated to hear specifics of the Khmer Rouge and how the people suffered. She worked for a newspaper chain for 30 years and said she never read all of that about the children being separated and the people being forced to marry people outside their religion or ethnicity. -Celia Carey Glass World Films Napa, CA |
New Year Baby Photo Gallery
