Book Discussion | When the War Was Over (1986) led by Elizabeth Becker

As part of the fourth edition of the Princeton French Film Festival, you are invited to a book discussion to celebrate the 40th anniversary of When the War was Over (1946) by award-winning journalist Elizabeth Becker.

Lunch will be offered to the attendees.

This will be followed, in the evening, by the cinematic adaptation of the book, Meeting with Pol Pot. Tickets here.

Elizabeth Becker is an award-winning journalist and historian, best known for her groundbreaking reporting on Cambodia and the Vietnam War. A former correspondent for The Washington Post and reporter and editor at The New York Times, Becker is the author of several influential books, including When the War Was Over: Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge Revolution (1986), America’s Vietnam War: A Narrative History, and You Don’t Belong Here: How Three Women Rewrote the Story of War. This event marks the 40th anniversary of When the War Was Over, widely regarded as a definitive account of the Khmer Rouge era. Becker was one of the few Western journalists granted access to Cambodia in 1978, when she interviewed Pol Pot alongside Richard Dudman and Malcolm Caldwell, who was killed during the visit. Though she did not witness genocide directly, Becker saw Phnom Penh emptied and staged for propaganda. Two days after her departure, Vietnam invaded Cambodia, and Pol Pot fled into the jungle.

Organized by the Princeton University's Princeton Film Festival organization. We thank our sponsors and partners for their support (complete list ). Open to everyone regardless of identity. All rooms are wheelchair-friendly and attendees can contact us at [email protected] for special accommodations (preferably 48 hours before the scheduled event). Please be aware that pictures might be taken before, during, and after the event.

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Host or Publisher Princeton French and Francophone Society