Swimming to Cambodia

Spalding Grays Swimming to Cambodia is a 1987 Jonathan Demmedirected performance film. The film is a performance of Spalding Grays monologue which centered on such themes as his trip to Southeast Asia to create the role of the U.S. Ambassadors aide in The Killing Fields, the Cold War, Cambodia Year Zero and his search for his perfect moment. The film grossed slightly over US1 million.

In 2001, Gray took Swimming to Cambodia back to the stage in Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, California and Albany, New York.The opening shots of the film depict Gray walking toward The Performing Garage in New York. He goes in and after walking in past the audience, he takes his seat behind a table. On the table is a glass of water, a microphone and a notebook which Gray brought with him. Behind him are two pulldown maps. One is a map of Southeast Asia and the other is a diagram of the bombing of Cambodia, which Gray tells the viewersaudience was called Operation Menu. There is also backlit projection screen which has projected on it a picture of a beach. Gray goes on to perform a monologue where he discusses his experiences filming a small role in the movie The Killing Fields. Interspersed with his own experiences he expounds on the recent history of Cambodia up through the coming to power of the Khmer Rouge and the Cambodian Genocide. A small scene from The Killing Fields is the only other footage in the movie. ........

Source: Wikipedia