Don't Think I've Forgotten: Cambodia's Lost Rock & Roll

I recently worked as Assistant Editor on this forthcoming documentary on a subject dear to my heart. Directed by John Pirozzi (Sleepwalking Through The Mekong).

Synopsis:
During the 60's and early 70's, as the war in Vietnam threatened its borders, a new music scene emerged in Cambodia that took Western rock and roll and stood it on its head-creating a sound like no other.

Cambodian musicians crafted this sound from the various rock music styles sweeping across America and England, adding the unique melodies and hypnotic rhythms of their traditional music. The beautiful singing of the renowned female vocalists became the final touch that made this mix so enticing.

As the peasant Khmer Rouge army closed in on the capital city of Phnom Penh, Cambodian rock and rollers played at rooftop parties while bombs ignited the evening sky.

On April 17, 1975, after taking over the country, the Khmer Rouge began one of the most brutal genocides in history, killing 2 million people - 1/4 of the Cambodian population. Intellectuals, artists and musicians were murdered simply for their status. Only a few miraculously survived to tell their story.

This documentary film, "Don't Think I've Forgotten," provides a new perspective on a country usually assocated with war and genocide. By celebrating this powerful music, and the people who created it, Cambodia's musical heyday emerges from the shadows of tragedy into the light of history.

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• cambodian
• rock&roll
• sinsisamouth
• rossereysothea
• panron
• johnpirozzi
• trailer
• documentary

[camae62]

Damn Nixon, damn Kissinger, and God damn fucking Pol Pot.

[besquaredclothing]

wow - makes you really wonder how cambodia would have been like if the genocides never happened...

[TheKatDeLeon]

I really really uber duberly want it because I want to ask my school to put it up in their next art show to support you!!!!!

[DerCo0lste]

@wtclark1

love you for that

[MegaMoFUnk]

im a breakdancer and to know this music was lost saddens me.. it sound so much like the breakdancing music today and it really hits my soul man. i wish that type of music was still here.

[tommydee562]

damn fuckin viets all there fault i would personaly go back in a time machine and punch pol pot in the face and bomb vietnam , Man im pist if non of this happen Cambodia would have been a rich country not all corupt like now.

[phmentertainment]

I cant help but cry every time I watch this clip!! It really is so sad that we lost our great people who shaped and pioneered our culture!

[saigonpunkid]

and China and the Vietnamese too.