Hot Docs 2008

During the U.S. military's covert operations in Laos in the early 1970s, Thavisouk Phrasavath's father was recruited to help the CIA. But when the Americans withdrew and the communist regime gained power, Phrasavath's father and thousands of others were declared enemies of the state and imprisoned. At the age of 12, Phrasavath made a harrowing escape from Laos to Thailand and eventually to New York City, where the hardships of an immigrant's life forced him, his eight siblings and his resilient mother to face an entirely different kind of war. The directorial debut of acclaimed cinematographer Ellen Kuras (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Neil Young: Heart of Gold), Betrayal is a lyrical film that fluidly incorporates archival footage, cinema vérité, revealing personal interviews and visually poetic montages. Beautifully filmed over the course of 23 years, it offers a stirring portrait of life in exile, of the far-reaching consequences of war and the unbreakable bonds of family.