1. Vann Nath was a Cambodian painter, artist, writer, and human rights activist.
17 Facts About Vann Nath
1. 2.
Vann Nath was one of only seven known adult survivors of S-21 camp, where 20,000 Cambodians were tortured and executed during the Khmer Rouge regime.
3.
Vann Nath was born in Phum Sophy village, Srok Battambang district, Battambang Province in northwestern Cambodia.
4.
Vann Nath was educated at Wat Sopee pagoda as a child.
5.
Vann Nath's parents were separated, and he had two brothers and an older sister.
6.
Vann Nath became interested in painting while he was studying at Wat Sopee pagoda.
7.
When his sister died, Vann Nath left the monkhood to start working to help support the family.
8.
Vann Nath enrolled in a private painting school in 1965.
9.
At the time of his arrest on 7 January 1978, Vann Nath was working in a rice field in his home province of Battambang like many other Battambang locals.
10.
Vann Nath was a painter and writer whose memoirs and paintings of his experiences in the infamous Tuol Sleng prison are a powerful and poignant testimony to the crimes of the Khmer Rouge and the communist regime.
11.
Vann Nath was an outspoken advocate for justice for victims of the crimes of the Khmer Rouge and this is reflected in his writing.
12.
Vann Nath's life was only spared by prison camp chief Kang Kek Iew so that he could be put to work on painting and sculpting portraits of Pol Pot.
13.
Vann Nath played an important role in helping to revive the arts in Cambodia after decades of war and genocide.
14.
Vann Nath was interviewed in the film, in which Panh brought together former prisoners and guards of the former Tuol Sleng prison.
15.
Vann Nath confronted and questioned his former torturers in the documentary film.
16.
Vann Nath suffered from a heart attack and went into a coma.
17.
Vann Nath died on 5 September 2011 at the Calmette Hospital in Phnom Penh.