LOOT: A Story of Crime and Redemption
- Directed by: Don Millar
- Released: 2026 (educational)
- Year of Production: 2025
From remote Cambodian villages to elite art institutions in New York, LOOT is a daring look into the underbelly of the multi-billion-dollar art market and the deadly reality behind "blood antiquities" filling Western museums today. Orchestrating a lucrative criminal network during the Cambodian civil war, British "adventure-scholar" Douglas Latchford led a team in the looting of thousand-year-old temples buried in landmine-riddled jungles. LOOT features unprecedented access, including to "Blue Tiger," a child-soldier-turned-looter now working to bring artifacts home, the Cambodian investigators and the American detective who organized "Operation Indochina Peninsula Plunder" which led to Latchford's indictment. The film tells the gripping story of the contrast of rich and poor as viewers learn about multi-million-dollar sales of works looted by Cambodian farmers paid $20.00 per week while risking their lives. LOOT also takes viewers behind-the-scenes as stolen pieces are returned to Cambodia, including some arriving from New York's Met Museum in July 2024. With thousands of pieces still overseas, Cambodia's relentless struggle continues against the most powerful figures in the art world today.
“The sprawling tale takes viewers from temples deep in the sweltering jungles of Southeast Asia to the heights of the Western art world.” - International Consortium of Investigative Journalists
“A gripping exploration of the murky links between art, crime and morality in the global art market.” - Cambodge Mag
Don draws on expertise telling compelling stories about art and artists, as well as his immersive experience in the international art world. He is the director of the 2018 feature documentary BOTERO; additional credits include RIDE THE VIBRATIONS (2021) and A FINAL SKETCH (2024). He is co-creator of the digital series ART SNAP.
Don is also a former board member at the Contemporary Art Gallery (Vancouver) and an Ambassador for HET HEM (Amsterdam). Don is a lens-based artist.
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