?S21, The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine?, the film voted ?Best Documentary? at last December?s European Film Awards is among six documentaries to be screened by Bermuda International Film Festival (BIFF) in its ?World Cinema Showcase? section.

Directed by Rithy Panh, it is a gripping tale told through the testimony of both the victims and perpetrators of the torment caused by the Khmer Rouge between 1975 and 1979 when some two million people were interrogated, tortured and murdered in Cambodia.

Security Office 21, or S21, was a detention camp in the heart of Phnom Penh which witnessed countless horrors. Director Panh, himself imprisoned by the Khmer Rouge before escaping, later spent three years scouring the camp?s meticulous archives and going through its equipment. He also patiently and painstakingly interviewed two of the seven surviving victims and several of the men who enabled the extermination machine to function.

Other documentaries selected by BIFF for its World Cinema Showcase section are:

isbased on the book of the same name by mountain climber Joe Simpson who, with his climbing partner Simon Yates, set out to climb the Siula Grande, a 21,000 peak in the Peruvian Andes which was thought to be unconquerable. The duo reached the summit, but on the way down Joe broke his leg. Simon began to lower his friend down the mountain but, faced with the prospect of being dragged off it by Joe, he cut the safety rope holding his partner, sending him crashing into a crevasse, and to an almost certain death. What followed is an inspiring tale of courage and determination as Joe fights for his life.

(director Jonathan Demme who also directed ?Silence of the Lambs? and ?Philadelphia?), tells the rivetting story of crusading journalist Jean Dominique, whose populist ways made him unpopular with dictator Papa Doc Duvalier and his son, Baby Doc. Forced into exile from 1980-86, Mr. Dominique returned to Haiti after the ousting of Baby Doc and found 60,000 people at the airport to meet him. Demme has produced/directed a number of documentaries about the Haitian plight.

, by Austrian director Ulrich Seidl, is about six Catholics who share their thoughts and problems with Jesus in different churches. The film is a two-time ?Best Documentary? winner.

from ThinkFilms is a charming documentary about a band of nomadic camel herders. A newborn camel is rejected by its mother. The herders, following local tradition, send for a musician from a neighbouring village, who plays music in an effort to change the mother?s view. The film has become the sleeper hit of international film festivals.

by Lars von Trier and Jorgen Leth, is about Leth, a filmmaker who not only revists but also recreates one of his films (?The Perfect Human?) at the urging of his mentor, von Trier, a a three-time Cannes Film Festival winner. ?The Five Obstructions? was nominated in 2003 for ?Best Documentary? at the European Film Awards and has screened at many international documentary film festivals.

The Bermuda International Film Festival is from March 19-25. Tickets ($10 individual) go on sale on Monday, March 1 online only at ww.bermudafilmfest.com The BIFF box office opens at No. 1 passenger terminal on Front Street from March 8 at 10 a.m. For further information ( 293-3456, fax 293-7769 or e-mail dafilmibl.bm