Before Heaven was created by first time director Colin Finlay, and is filled with emotion and empathy, the only truth that can come from the soul of a man who has spent 30 years in the field. It is a powerful journey into the center of hope, recovery and reconciliation. The war, the genocide in Cambodia, which began in April of 1975, is the entry point, the center of the compass. Working outwards from the tortuous Prison S-21, the journey ultimately finds itself in the midst of killing fields that remain to this day; a place where bodies are still lost, and recycled down into the firmament of our collective history.

Five million land mines were also laid in place throughout the Cambodian countryside, and they have slept through time. To this day, victory is won by a group of solitary men and women who work throughout the country, diffusing one land mine after another. The risk they take is tremendous, but each land mine recovered is a life, a limb, a families future safeguarded, and that is the true uncelebrated victory.

There are women and men from the countries rehabilitation clinics that are healing their own country; building one artificial limb at a time. Each is a victory, carried in the hearts and minds of those who are able to walk once again.

Earning their independence, one day, one song at a time, completing the loop of infinity, so that all of our collective humanity can thrive under the brightness of the same sun. The voice, the power of the Cambodian spirit is channeled through the images, the paintings, the score, the writing and narration. They are all brought to the screen to illuminate the power of forgiveness.

Release Date: Spring 2022

Soundtrack Release Date: Spring 2022

Format Theatrical: DCP/1.85/color/stereo

Format Broadcast/Streaming: HD/1.78/stereo

Run Time: 17 Minutes