The Missing Picture

The Missing Picture is a 2013 documentary film that uses clay figures, archival footage, and narration to recreate the atrocities committed by Cambodia's Khmer Rouge between 1975 and 1979. The film features Randal Douc as the original French narrator and Jean-Baptiste Phou in the English version, as it explores the loss of cultural identity inflicted by the Khmer Rouge and their forced reshaping of Cambodian society through radical socialism. Through this blend of animation, archival footage, and clay dioramas, director Rithy Panh reenacts the brutal realities of life under the regime, highlighting the importance of cinema as a tool for bearing witness and preserving collective memory.