Directed by Tanner Matthews, Shelby Baldock

Documentary Feature / USA / 95 min

Strand: Politico

UK Premiere

Screening: Sunday 22 September 20:30 | Monday 23 September 17:45

Review:

It is often forgotten that Laos was bombed during the Vietnam War and yet the country is still paying the price, almost half a century later. BOMBIE looks at the lasting social, agricultural and psychological effects of cluster bombs, particularly when dropped on a poor country like Laos, which is lacking in the infrastructure necessary for a proper recovery. This documentary provides a range of insights, from the lives of those people disabled by the war - many of whom do not have the means to support their families - to the remaining UXO (unexploded bombs) still in abundance on Laos’ lands, which are a regular cause of casualties.

Interspersed with historical footage from the war, BOMBIE navigates the past and those trying to help the country today, including the organisation Give Children a Choice, which builds schools for Lao children in remote villages. It also shows how Lao UXO clearance teams risk their lives on a daily basis in order to make the land safer. Whilst BOMBIE focuses mostly on Laos it also looks at the effects of cluster bombs in war zones worldwide; the response of the US government to the damage the bombs cause; and international efforts to ban the use of chemical warfare. / Review by Ellie Steiner

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Credits:

Directors: Tanner Matthews, Shelby Baldock

Writers: Tanner Matthews, Shelby Baldock

Producer: Tanner Matthews

Cast: Dori Shimoda, Barbara Shimoda, Thongchan