" The idea at the heart of this film is to gather a group of actors around a project that exemplifies the reality Cambodian people live in : something inside us – dignity , identity – is rotting to shreds . To recover our memory after the tragedy of genocide , " the director wrote in a synopsis for the 2005 Cannes Film Festival . " We are in the process of losing our memory . Cambodia is a land of broken dreams . There is no more theatre , no more playhouses . " The film is an urging by the director to restore Cambodia 's lost cultural heritage . In comments prepared for the Tokyo Filmex in 2005 , Panh wrote : " When it comes to reconstruction , we must restore our identity first and have some space of cultural expression to do so . In Cambodia , we say : ' When culture vanishes , the nation collapses . ' How can we build our country if culture remains confined to survival when transmission of memory 's so much at stake ? Culture should be a priority because it is so instrumental in healing our wounds , overcoming traumas and building democracy . The situation of the burnt theatre serves as a symbol of Cambodia 's situation , just as of many other developing countries ' . Are we to reduce culture to its folklore dimension ? And yet … To break away with ' culture of survival ' , and overcome stupor of trauma , we need a link , we need continuity . Artists embody such a link . Through creations , they can avoid breaking up with our past , they can restore dignity of memory . " '' The Burnt Theatre '' premiered at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival as an official selection in the out-of-competition main programme . The film was also screened at the Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival , São Paulo International Film Festival , Tokyo Filmex ( in competition ) , the 2006 Bangkok International Film Festival , the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival , and the Singapore International Film Festival . It has also been broadcast on the Arte television network in Europe
2005 Cannes Film Festival
2005 Cannes Film Festival
The Burnt Theatre