Nowhere But Here is a short documentary which follows the lives of Rouen Pich & Kanley Sout from Oakaland, CA. Between the years of 1975-1979, the Khmer Rouge Communist Regime wiped out a total of 1.4 million Cambodians in one of the bloodiest genocides of the century. As a result, tens of thousands would flee to refugee camps across the border into Thailand, where eventually, thousands would then flock to the United States of America. Oakland became one of the destinations in which many families took refuge during the early 1980’s, right in the middle of America’s war on drugs, gangs & violence. 20 years ago (2002), the U.S. signed a deal with Cambodia for refugees to be sent back permanently if they committed a crime (even non-violent ones). Unfortunately, Rouen would become one of these Khmer refugees who was targeted by ICE to be sent back to Cambodia. Although the non-violent crime he committed was decades ago as a teen, ICE still detained him as a potential candidate to be deported to Cambodia. This is the story of Roeun’s wife Kanley’s resilience to fight for her husband’s freedom, alongside her children & with the support of the Cambodian community in Oakland, Rouen & Kanley found themselves hit hard with the reality that home is where the heart is, where the family can be together… home is nowhere but here.

A film by ARTogether, directed by Brandon Soun