Brother Number One

The 1978 death of Kerry Hamill in Khmer Rouge prison S21 provided a tangible link for New Zealanders to a genocide that claimed two million Cambodian lives. Thirty years later, this acclaimed documentary by filmmaker Annie Goldson follows Hamill’s brother Rob — an Olympian and Trans-Atlantic rowing champion — as he attends the war crimes trial of Comrade Duch, one of the architects of the slaughter. Hamill is there to make a victim impact statement, but also to understand how his brother died, confront the man responsible, and discover if forgiveness is possible. 

The inherent power of the story is overwhelming ... Goldson’s intelligent, nuanced treatment does it full justice.

– David Larsen in a Listener review, 16 July 2011

Key Cast & Crew

Peter Gilbert

Cinematographer

Tom Fox

Composer

Jacob Bryant

Cinematographer

Annie Goldson

Director, Writer, Co-Editor, Producer

Marshall Smith

Composer

Rob Hamill

Writer, Producer, Subject