In honor of the Khmer New Year, Rotanak Oudom Oum (aka ORO), one of the leading archivists of pre-conflict Cambodian pop, will present the Seattle premiere of Nothing Bigger than Love (Raw Music International), a short film chronicling his travels in search of some of the rarest music in the world, and Nate from Lowell, MA, a short about ORO’s fellow Cambodian pop preservationist Nate Hun.

ORO, who is the cofounder of the Cambodian Vintage Music Archive (CVMA), was born in Phnom Penh just a handful of years after the Khmer Rouge was ousted from the capitol city. The Khmer Rouge tragedy decimated a large part of the population, as well as the rich Cambodian pop music tradition from the 1950s-1970s, a time when Phnom Penh had been known as the Pearl of Asia.

A scant few original records of the music have survived thanks to the sustained efforts of people in Cambodia and its diaspora, including the CVMA and Seattle’s Pearl of Asia Disques. ORO contributed to preserving the legacy of the music through his contributions to the soundtrack of Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten (2015, Dir. Pirozzi), the documentary that put lost Cambodian pop on the map. This fundraiser contributes to ORO’s participation at a global Cambodian conference of remembrance in France. Talk and screening will be followed by a live vinyl DJ performance by ORO. You can support ORO’s trip to France directly here!

This event is co-produced by Cambodian Vintage Music Archive, Pearl of Asia Disques, Sameth Mell, and Marianne Goldin, with generous hosting provided by Northwest Film Forum. Special thanks to Raw Music International.