Rithy Panh Quotes

The book is called 'A House in the Sky' because during the very, very darkest times, that was how I survived. I had to find a safe place to go in my mind where there was no violence being done to my body and where I could reflect on the life I had lived and the life that I still wanted to live.

They can put me in a jungle. Still, I can create.

I am lucky to be a film director. I can create, express. It proves that I am still alive and the Khmer Rouge did not succeed in destroying me.

Through all the darkness, through all the shame of which men are capable, the spirit of man will remain alive on this earth. It may sleep, but it will awaken. It may wear chains, but it will break through.

My art teacher had said that if you breathed deeply and imagined something, you could be there. You could see it, feel it. During our standoffs with the NKVD, I learned to do that. I clung to my rusted dreams during the times of silence. It was at gunpoint that I fell into every hope and allowed myself to wish from the deepest part of my heart. Komorov thought he was torturing us. But we were escaping into a stillness within ourselves. We found strength there.

I surprise myself that I'm not dead in the gutter somewhere, surprised that I haven't given up.

When people tell you you're on the brink of death, you've got to dig pretty deep to get it together.

In my stories, I controlled what happened in a way I couldn't in real life. My characters lived through the horror and degradation of the cruelty of others and they not only survived, they thrived. They gave me hope and laughter, and they kept me going in spite of everything else. They were my heroes.

We all survive more than we think we can.

Because of my faith and my imagination, I was able to enjoy my childhood, even though it was tough.

'A Child Called It' was a story about resilience, it was never about boo hoo hoo, it was about a kid that didn't quit.

I'm a survivor - a living example of what people can go through and survive.

I've seen too much in life to give up.

We don't even know how strong we are until we are forced to bring that hidden strength forward. In times of tragedy, of war, of necessity, people do amazing things. The human capacity for survival and renewal is awesome.

I believe very deeply in the human spirit, and I have a sense of awe about it. I look around and ask, 'What makes the difference? What is it?' I've known people the world has thrown everything at - to discourage them, to kill them, to break their spirit. And yet something about them retains a dignity. They face life and they don't ask quarters.

Even if I was in prison, I could be free in my head. I can adapt easily.

Life beats down and crushes the soul and art reminds you that you have one.

There were times when chemo would eat my body, but I told myself that I have the strength and courage to win and come out stronger.

We shall draw from the heart of suffering itself the means of inspiration and survival.

Anyone who cannot come to terms with his life while he is alive needs one hand to ward off a little his despair over his fate... but with his other hand he can note down what he sees among the ruins.

To put up a show is to face life's injustices with one of the few weapons available to a desperate and brave people, their imagination.

Ultimately, we're incredibly resilient creatures. People really do get on with the business of living.

Blacks had survived every form of human debasement with ingenuity, self-reliance, a deep and ironic humor, a capacity for self-reinvention and a heroic fortitude. But we had no experience of wide-open freedom.

What I learned for myself... is that no matter what the circumstances, people survive.

All my life, I have been a positive thinker... I have always been able to survive by telling myself that no matter how bad things are, they will one day be better. And that out of every event - no matter how tragic - one can always find a way to survive and even, perhaps, to be a little bit happy.