MY FATHER’S CAMBODIA

Eric You, a Cambodian American high school student, explores his cultural heritage and identity by reflecting on his recent trip to Cambodia and through an interview with his father about his memories and recollections of Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge. Eric created this documentary short for his senior project at Franklin High School in Seattle, Washington. He is currently a student at Seattle Central College. He wrote this essay about his film for the Spring 2015 newsletter.

Sharing Stories Through Film
by Eric You

I got involved in the Southeast Asian Young Men’s Group during my sophomore year after a friend invited me to join the group. He told me that there was free food, that we got to skip class once a week, and that all of our friends were there. I didn’t care much about high school, so it was pretty tempting. After joining, I learned more about Southeast Asian culture. It interested me because it was stuff that I didn’t learn in class and my parents didn’t talk about. It was easy to get along with the people I didn’t know in group. They were like me. We were all Southeast Asian, and we had a shared history.

At first, I joined group to get my service learning hours and to have something to put on my resume. Joseph Mills, the SEA-YM group lead, gave everybody an assignment to ask our parents about their story and find out where and how they grew up. I didn’t feel like doing it because it was uncomfortable to talk to my parents about their past and the Khmer Rouge. They often talked about how easy I have it here and how they want me to have better opportunities in life, but they never talked about their past.

However, I needed service hours, so I thought I might make a film about my cultural background with the SEA-YM afterschool film program. Joseph loved the idea and tried to teach me as much as he could about filmmaking. This coincided with my family’s trip to Cambodia, and so I took advantage of trip to film and get to know my parents and family better.

I went to Cambodia with my parents in my junior year. I was excited to go because of everything I had learned with my group. I was only five the first time I visited, so I didn’t get very much out of it then. This time, I wanted to get to know my family and find out more about my culture and feel connected to it.

Interviewing my dad for my video project felt different than other times when we have talked. I was able to ask him questions that I wouldn’t have before I joined group. I learned how my father gave up on his dream to become a doctor so my family and I could have better opportunities. Hearing his story made me more appreciative of his sacrifices. Since then, I began helping out more around the house and interacting with my parents more. Though it was hard work to shoot and edit while balancing schoolwork, learning about my heritage and getting past the barriers between my dad and me made it worth the effort.

Joseph submitted for my film for inclusion in a local film festival. I was happy when my film was accepted, and I was amazed that something I made, my story, became such a big deal.

Eric continues to attend the Southeast Asian Young Men’s Group weekly. His short film, “My Father’s Cambodia,” appeared in the February 2015 Seattle Asian American Film Festival.