Becker. Banner for Film Festival - Book Discussion vertical bar When the War Was Over ( 1986 ) led by journalist Elizabeth Becker [ Registration on External Link ]

Film Festival - Book Discussion | When the War Was Over (1986) led by journalist Elizabeth Becker [Registration on External Link]

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Forum/Panel Discussion Arts Diversity & Inclusion Global/Intercultural Humanities

Fri, Apr 17, 2026

12 PM – 1:30 PM EDT (GMT-4)

Private Location (sign in to display)

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Details

Becker. Flyer for Film Festival - Book Discussion vertical bar When the War Was Over ( 1986 ) led by journalist Elizabeth Becker [ Registration on External Link ]
When the War Was Over: Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge Revolution is a 1986 non-fiction book by American journalist 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 are required).

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 here). Open to everyone regardless of identity. All rooms are wheelchair-friendly and attendees can contact us at filmfestival@princeton.edu for special accommodations (preferably 48 hours before the scheduled event). Please be aware that pictures might be taken before, during, and after the event.
Food Provided (Light lunch and drinks)

Speakers

Elizabeth Becker's profile photo

Elizabeth Becker

https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-becker-35baa6a/

Award winning author and journalist who covered national and international news as a correspondent at the New York Times and Washington Post and the Senior Foreign Editor of National Public Radio for over 40 years. She won the DuPont Columbia Journalism award as producer of NPR coverage of the Rwanda Massacre and the first free South Africa Election in 1994 and won an Overseas Press Club accolade for her 1978 coverage of Cambodia under Pol Pot. She was part of the New York Times team that won the Pulitzer Prize for coverage of 9/11. She is the author of three books on Southeast Asia, including "WHEN THE WAR WAS OVER, Cambodia And The Khmer Rouge Revolution" which won accolades from the Robert F. Kennedy Book Awards. Her latest book YOU DON"T BELONG HERE: How Three Women Rewrote the Story of War" was published in 2021 and won Harvard's Goldsmith Book Prize as well as the Sperber book Prize. Her book titled "OVERBOOKED, the Exploding Business of travel and tourism", was an Amazon book of the year and praised by Arthur Frommer as "required reading for anyone interested in the future of travel."- This five year investigation of one of the world's largest business and its profound impacts led Conde Nast Traveler to name Becker as one of the most influential thinker in travel. "Rendez-vous Avec Pol Pot," the acclaimed 2024 feature film by Rithy Panh, is loosely based on her two weeks in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge and her interview with Pol Pot. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2024 where she walked the red carpet with the actress Irene Jacob who plays her character.

Hosted By

Princeton Film Festival | View More Events
Co-hosted with: French and Francophone Society, Princeton Undergraduate Francophone Society