Catherine Filloux is an award-winning playwright who has been writing plays about human rights and social justice for over twenty-five years. This talk includes Filloux’s work both in the U.S. and in Cambodia. She discusses her web play “Turning Your Body Into a Compass,” about children and deportation in the U.S., performed live as a 360° online experience. She also shares her work addressing issues of memory and complicity in relation to the experiences of Cambodians who suffered at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. She is joined by Mu Sochua, a Cambodian politician and rights activist. The moderator is Alexa Jordan, a playwright and actress who served as associate producer and outreach coordinator on “Turning Your Body Into a Compass."
Catherine Filloux is an award-winning playwright who has been writing plays about human rights and social justice for over twenty-five years.
Mu Sochua is a Cambodian politician who has dedicated her life to fighting for women’s rights and democracy in Southeast Asia. As the daughter of disappeared Sino Khmer parents, Sochua spent most of her young-adult life in exile in the United States. When she returned to Cambodia in 1991, she strove to rebuild her country, first by founding Khemara, an NGO for women’s empowerment, and by joining the FUNCINPEC party. She eventually won a seat in Parliament, where she served as the first Minister of Women and Veterans’ Affairs between 1998 and 2004. As the government grew increasingly corrupt under Prime Minister Hun Sen, Sochua stepped down and became Vice President of the Cambodia National Rescue Party, Cambodia’s main electoral opposition party. Still dedicated to her work combating sex trafficking and promoting gender equality, she received a Vital Voices’ Leadership Award and was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2005. Sochua is once again living in exile after Mr. Hun Sen dissolved the CNRP and threatened its leaders in 2017. Fighting to ensure the restoration of democracy and freedom in Cambodia, Sochua is currently traveling the world and meeting with international leaders to call for action against Mr. Hun Sen’s government.
Alexa Jordan is a playwright and actress based in New York City.