Finding Face

Breaking the Silence of Domestic Abuse

Finding Face details the controversial case of Tat Marina, who was attacked with acid in Cambodia in 1999. At 16, Marina was a rising star in Phnom Penh's karaoke music scene. She was coerced into an abusive relationship with Cambodia's Undersecretary of State, Svay Sitha, and subsequently attacked with acid. The film contextualizes acid violence as both a human rights violation and a gendered form of violence. Marina, who was granted asylum to enter the U.S., struggles to emerge from a shattered self-image and escape a constant state of fear. She breaks her long silence with the hope that she can gain some form of justice, if not in the judicial system then at least in the court of public opinion.