“Impressionistic and lyrical, as well as somber and gripping, The Betrayal conveys a ceaseless flow. It’s as if the filmmaker has opened a window onto a parallel world traveling beside our own.”— Village Voice
Twenty-three years in the making, this story of a Laotian refugee family ripples with the impact of the covert U.S. war in Laos. Thavisouk “Thavi” Phrasavath escaped Laos at age 12 and landed in Brooklyn with his mother and siblings in the 1980s. Phrasavath’s role evolved from being Kuras’ translator to the documentary’s subject and its codirector, writer, and editor. A poetic tale of loss, The Betrayal was nominated for the Academy Award for best documentary. 2008, video, 96 minutes.
