In this biography
Quick facts
- Born
- 18 April 1964
- Birthplace
- Phnom Penh, Cambodia
- Country
- Cambodia
- Nationality
- Cambodian
- Known for
- Using cinema and archives to confront the memory of Democratic Kampuchea
- Breakthrough film
- Rice People, 1994
- Cannes prize
- Un Certain Regard, 2013
- Oscar milestone
- Cambodia’s first nominated feature
- Institution
- Bophana Audiovisual Resource Center
Why this life matters
Rithy Panh created an internationally influential cinema of testimony while building Cambodian institutions that preserve audiovisual history and train new filmmakers.
Timeline
Key moments
Forced from Phnom Penh
The Khmer Rouge evacuated his family to the countryside.
Reached France
Escaped to a Thai refugee camp and then settled in France.
Premiered Rice People at Cannes
His first feature competed for the Palme d’Or.
Released S21
Survivors and former guards confronted the machinery of Tuol Sleng prison.
Opened the Bophana Center
Created an institution for Cambodian audiovisual preservation and training.
The Missing Picture won global recognition
Won Un Certain Regard and received an Academy Award nomination.
Survival and the search for an image
Rithy Panh was eleven when Khmer Rouge forces evacuated Phnom Penh. He lost much of his family during Democratic Kampuchea, escaped to a refugee camp in 1979 and reached France the following year.
After studying film, he returned repeatedly to Cambodia’s destroyed families and archives. Rice People brought Cambodian rural life to the Cannes competition, while later documentaries examined testimony, perpetration and the limits of surviving evidence.
A cinema and an archive of memory
S21 placed Tuol Sleng survivors and former guards inside the prison site, using repeated gestures to expose how violence had been organised. The Missing Picture used clay figures and propaganda footage to represent family images that did not exist.
The film won Un Certain Regard in 2013 and became Cambodia’s first Academy Award nominee for international feature. Through the Bophana Center, Panh also preserves film and sound records and trains creators, turning personal memory work into public cultural infrastructure.
Quick answers
Frequently asked questions about Rithy Panh
- Who is Rithy Panh?
- Rithy Panh is a film director and documentary maker. Rithy Panh created an internationally influential cinema of testimony while building Cambodian institutions that preserve audiovisual history and train new filmmakers.
- What is Rithy Panh best known for?
- Rithy Panh is best known for using cinema and archives to confront the memory of Democratic Kampuchea.
- When and where was Rithy Panh born?
- Rithy Panh was born on 18 April 1964 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Sources and further reading
How this biography was checked
Core dates and offices are checked against the sources below. This profile was last reviewed on 9 September 2026.
