Light + Sound Machine, along with the Belcourt Theatre and Third Man Records, present...
(Preview prior to the Belcourt’s regular engagement in June)
d. John Pirozzi / USA / 2015 / HD
40 years ago, The Khmer Rouge entered the Cambodian city of Phnom Penh and removed all the blossoms from its tree-lined streets. The Cambodia of the 1950's and 60's was brimming with artists and musicians, and traditional Khmer themes were being placed into the Western contexts of rock & roll and go-go, discotheques and crooning heartthrobs, record stores and clubs. Phnom Penh looked similar to any Western city of that time, political unrest giving birth to counter culture, where we all know the good stuff really gets good. Don't Think I've Forgotten is John Pirozzi's keenly told story of the doomed fate of the youth and the youth culture of Phnom Penh and Cambodian culture at large, a fate transformed by bombs and brutality. Between its credits lay a generation of artists who deserve more days and whose songs deserve a larger audience.
The severity of the Cambodian government under Pol Pot and the Khmer Rogue makes free and open expression in the 50s and 60s so much more valuable and significant. In a xenophobic effort to transform the increasingly modern and intellectual Cambodian social landscape into an agrarian society of feudalist farmers, the Khmer Rouge suppressed anything that could possibly distract from the “noble pursuit” of farm life. Frighteningly, this meant art, spirituality, religion and higher education were all outlawed and punishable by death. Over 1/3 of the Cambodian population were killed under the leadership of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. By studying the rich creations of the culture before one of the most oppressive governments of the 20th century, we are able to connect with and honor the helpless victims of war. It is not possible to overstate its importance.
The Belcourt Theatre and Third Man Records are pleased to bring you a preview screening of this stirring documentary before its June opening at the Belcourt.
Tickets are available for $10 via thirdmanstore.com or $8 for Belcourt members at belcourt.org. If you haven't already, donate to the Belcourt Theatre as part of The Big Payback today!
http://thirdmanrecords.com/more/light-and-sound-machine/
Please accept this poem s my thanks for having featured this film …. A Brave and Startling Truth by Maya Angelou …. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-gWkuhP7VEE
Ok… This is unsettling…. I have been telling myself that i will do what it takes to get to Nashville for this film because it is a huge manifestation of how creativity is repeatedly underminded through out history….. Ive always taken serious the study of how dominant economics disassemble creative movements and further disintegrate the stability and integrity of individual expression and ideation….. I think we can agree that there are a host of beings that secretly and not so secretly have no respect or desire to see open expression and creatively expansive consilience be the basis of community……………… After days of going and going and miles of being strong i have to say that driving this distance tonight after what i am experiencing in my workplace would be too much…. This film partnership with the Belcourt has been my dream come true and a lot of Cambodian and Laos Refugees in my city would benefit from the transfer of this particular vantage point given the context of what is happening here in these strange days …. I look forward to hanging with folks who frequent the Sound and Light Machine as a huge cultural step in the serious advancement of socially forward thinking entertainment and am glad to have the friendship and comradarie of those who would show a film like this as a commitment to seeking the truth and preserving the soul of rock and roll as whole being… Damn… Maybe partying will help…. Someone put MinuteMen and D.Boone on the playlist for tonights preshow mix tape and post the tracks here and I will know that you know what i know will not be forgotten as the lives of many were lost way back in the day in the course or Music Being sacred!!!
Ciao Bellesimo….
will try to make it if I can. I think well worth the 8hr one way drive. Again thanks to Jack and TMR for all you do!
I remember finding some footage on youtube from this era and posting it…. I love that i can always count on TMR to follow up on these leads and share the greater view for a more vast appreciation of things that i found lovely enough to share…. So fresh and still so pertinent to the social issues today! Go on with your bad self TMR… You all that and a bag o chips baby!
I wish I lived in Nashville!!!
In all seriousness, though, this is one showing that definitely makes me wish I lived closer to Nashville. That was a frightening time and place in history that way too little is known about.
This does not look like a Tim Burton film.
I don’t see a date, so—third Thursday of the month = May 21st, yes?