Finding Face
Finding Face
Finding Face
Finding Face
Finding Face
Finding Face

Finding Face

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    • Directed by: Skye Fitzgerald
    • Produced by: Skye Fitzgerald
    Released: 2009
    Running Time: 68 min

    FINDING FACE details the controversial case of Tat Marina, who was attacked with acid in Cambodia in 1999. At 16, Marina was a rising star in Phnom Penh's karaoke music scene. She was coerced into an abusive relationship with Cambodia's Undersecretary of State, Svay Sitha, and subsequently attacked with acid. The film contextualizes acid violence as both a human rights violation and a gendered form of violence. Marina, who was granted asylum to enter the U.S., struggles to emerge from a shattered self-image and escape a constant state of fear. She breaks her long silence with the hope that she can gain some form of justice, if not in the judicial system then at least in the court of public opinion.

    Awards

    • Special Jury Prize/Human Rights, Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, 2011
    • Courage Award presented to Tat Marina & Finding Face, DisOrient International Film Festival, 2011
    • Best Documentary Feature, San Diego Asian Film Festival, 2010
    • Winner Best Film, Astoria International Film Festival
    • Official Selection, San Francisco DocFest
    • Official Selection, Festival Int. De Cine De Los Derechos Humanos, Bolivia
    • Official Selection, Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival
    • Official Selection, Festival Du Film Int. Sur Les Droits Humans, Geneva
    • Official Selection, POW Fest

    Quotes

    "…emotional and artful treatment… deserves considerable exposure for the impact of its story and an acute sense of injustice that goes beyond the usual document of human-rights violations."
    —Variety [read review]

    "An infuriating study in the ways that power greases the wheels of justice..."
    —LA Weekly

    "…a startling portrait of a young woman's life forever altered by an inhuman crime. While difficult to witness, this film's harrowing story is deeply important to acknowledge."
    —World Pulse Magazine

    "…[A]cid attacks raise the larger issues of impunity, corruption, and human rights. The government official who forced a 15-year-old into a relationship remains untouched, as does his wife."
    —Kristi Turnquist, The Oregonian

    "For their film Finding Face… Skye Fitzgerald and Patti Duncan weren't just committed to telling a story. They quite possibly held the lives of their subjects in their hands."
    —Kristi Turnquist, The Oregonian

    "Finding Face does not play soft with its audience… Documentaries like this are vitally important to see, even if hard to watch… The film accomplishes everything it set out to do and more—getting people talking about an issue largely ignored before, telling a powerful story of injustice, human rights violations and gender-based violence."
    —Kelcie Moseley, The Argonaut (University of Idaho)

    "Finding Face is a film the viewer will never forget."
    —Kelcie Moseley, The Argonaut (University of Idaho)

    "This documentary, Finding Face, confronts us with injustice, despair, and sympathy for Tat Marina, who is now just beginning to pick up the broken pieces, while trying to leave her history behind…"
    —Voice of America (Khmer)

    "For ten years, Marina has been silenced and justice has not been given to her… [The filmmakers] aimed at giving back a human face and dignity to the young woman…"
    —Ka-Set (an independent news website about Cambodia and Cambodians abroad)