Today, I had the great fortune to watch my very first ever Khmer Classical Dance live! It was even better that it took place in Montreal, Canada of all places! I just love the performer colorful dresses and outfits! They dance so beautifully and yet peacefully! It was like the Khmer Rouge regime didn't even existed for a brief moment. I was lost in their performance! Once the dance was over, we return our attention to the keynotes; Rithy Panh & Alex Hinton. Then follow by the documentary screening from both Paul Tom and Rithy Panh. I thought both documentaries were moving and yet got their message across.
I honestly cried three times watching "Le papier ne peut pas envelopper la braise" (Paper Cannot Wrap Ember). The reason is that the story was about prostitution in Cambodia. It showed the struggle and suffering of a life as a prostitute in Cambodia. I thought Rithy Panh did an excellent job on bringing the past, present and future of Cambodia in the film. I also noticed that the main character was a former child refugee who returned to her home country in 1992 when she was nine years old. This is actually align with my presentation on Saturday, May 7, 2011! Today was a great start of the conference! I am looking forward to many more speakers, presenters, documentaries, and arts from Cambodian all over the world as well as scholars in this subject matter!
The only down side I would have to say.....the screening was in Khmer and French. For those who do not understand Khmer or read French, seemed to be out of the loop. So I ended translating the dialogue and summarizing the stories to those who were curious.
Hello Yenly
ReplyDeleteI wonder if you know the contact of the dance group.
Thank you
Kim
Hello Kim,
ReplyDeleteI don't know off the top of my head but I can find out for you. Are you currently located in Montreal?