CTFF 2015 honor DR. HAING S. NGOR with LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

THE 3RD ANNUAL CAMBODIA TOWN FILM FESTIVAL 2015 HONOR DR. HAING S. NGOR WITH LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD.

Dr. Haing S. Ngor was born in Samrong Young, Cambodia March 22nd, 1940.  He was a highly skilled surgeon and gynecologist, practicing in Phnom Penh Cambodia, when in 1975 he was ordered out of the city, along with two million other residents, as part of the Khmer Rouge takeover.  After four years in a “concentration camp”, he and his niece Sophia Ngor took refuge in Thailand, and subsequently the United States.  Although Dr. Ngor had no acting experience, he was chosen for the role of a journalist’s assistant trapped in the killing fields of Cambodia.  Haing Ngor’s real life experience in Cambodia’s killing fields enabled him to deliver a performance that was so realistic and moving, that it earned him an Academy Award in 1985 for “Best Supporting Actor”.  Dr. Ngor’s Oscar winning performance in “The Killing Fields” was followed with roles in 16 other feature films, as well as numerous television appearances.

On February 25th, 1996 Dr. Haing S. Ngor was shot and killed while standing beside his car in Los Angeles’ Chinatown. Three members of a Chinatown gang were later tried and convicted of first degree murder, and second degree robbery in the senseless slaying of Dr. Ngor.

At the 3rd Annual Cambodia Town Film Festival (CTFF) held in Cambodia Town, Long Beach. The Documentary film, The Killing Fields of Dr. Haing S. Ngor win Best Documentary Feature. At the end of the night CTFF co-director, Caylee So emotionally presented the late Dr. Haing S. Ngor with a CTFF Lifetime Achievement Award. His niece Sophia Ngor accepted on his behalf.