Film on Cambodia’s Rock and Roll Scene of the 1960s Shown in Phnom Penh to Mark the 10th Anniversary of its Release
By Michelle Vachon Cambodianess 16, August 16, 2024
Photo of Cambodian artists of the 1960s shown in the film “Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten: Cambodia’s Lost Rock and Roll.” Photo: film shot
PHNOM PENH — Among the legacies of past eras, the popular singers and music of the 1960s have resonated among Cambodians across social divides. Recordings of singers Sin Sisamuth and Ros Serey Sothea who both died during the Khmer Rouge regime of 1975-1979 keep on being heard today.
To mark the 10th anniversary of the documentary film “Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten: Cambodia’s Lost Rock and Roll”, the film done by U.S. filmmaker John Pirozzi was presented, followed by a panel discussion, on Aug. 16, at the office of the NGO Future Forum in Phnom Penh.
When the film was premiered at Festival du Nouveau Cinéma de Montréal (Montreal new cinema festival) in Canada in 2014, film reviewer Anthony Oliver Scott of The New York Times newspaper had described it as “a rich and defiant effort at recovery, showing that even the most murderous totalitarianism [of the Khmer Rouge] cannot fully erase the human drive for pleasure and self-expression.”
The film also featured musicians and singers who were not as well-known as the major stars but played a role in the music scene of the time, said Youk Chhang of the Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam). “Nearly every Cambodian knows the singers in the film, almost everyone knows the songs I believe, but not every artist was recognized for his/her role in music at that time.”
“We [DC-Cam] provided the ground research, helped locate the artists who had survived…helped [provide information through] the archives,” said Chhang who served as executive producer for the film.
When the film was first shown in Phnom Penh, the Chaktomuk Conference Hall was packed over capacity, he recalled.
Speaking of the artists killed during the Pol Pot regime, Chhang said, “It has been a lie that the Khmer Rouge killed nearly 90 percent of the artists…You know, the artistry is in Cambodian blood. No one can remove it completely. And that’s why [it was important in the film to stress] the resilience of the artists who survived the Khmer Rouge genocide.”
The film “Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten: Cambodia’s Lost Rock and Roll” is accessible online.
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