Cultural differences between Cambodians and Americans.

Here are some more areas of contrast between Cambodian and American cultures. The first is a difference that causes a lot of frustration among western tourists to the Kingdom. You make arrangements to meet up and they turn up – late, and with little explanation other than “Cambodian time.” Time in Cambodia is more like a river and sometimes it just flows more slowly.

The second area of difference lies in the conversational rules that we automatically observe. Americans tend when in a group to take turns in conversation – whereas Cambodians jointly construct a dialogue cutting over the others if they have something to add or sharing periods of silence and lulls in the conversation. Westerners can feel quite uncomfortable about shared silence, and will tend to fill the gaps. even at the risk of moving the topic to more prosaic matters. “That’s quite some rain we’ve been having…”

• For more on cultural differences check out these links that are peppered throughout this Blog.
• More American and Cambodian cultural differences.
• Lost in translation. A cultural mystery involving a giant chicken.
• And while we on the subject of Chickens, here’s a little cultural test that reveals cultural differences.

A critical new wave of Cambodian film

Anti-Archive is a production company giving voice to an edgier new wave of Cambodian movie makers. They have seized the opportunity afforded by inexpensive shooting methods – using hand held video for example, alongside an emerging artistic community who are concerned less about Cambodia’s dreadful holocaust of the 1970s and more about the pressing challenges of modern life. Careless urbanisation, the discontentment that walks hand in hand with higher education and the stress on families all get airplay in Ant-Archive’s roster of movies which have garnered international awards.

Anti-­Archive is a Cambodian film production company, which produces and co-­produces fiction and documentary films by the emerging, new generation of Cambodian filmmakers, as well as films by international, independent directors shooting in Cambodia. Deliberately provocative, the name Anti­-Archive invites one to rethink the relationship of films and filmmakers with the past and history.

Quote from the Anti-Archive website.

The founders Davy Chou and Steve Chen met in Phnom Penh in 2009, when they were each developing their own film projects. Steve Chen worked on the production of GOLDEN SLUMBERS, and in 2012 directed and produced the Cambodian feature film DREAM LAND with support from Davy Chou. 

The company recognises the need for a structure of film production in Cambodia to support young independent filmmakers, some of whom have since shown their first works internationally. ​

Since 2009 they have produced a string of movies – mostly helmed by locals, but on some occasions using foreign Directors who fulfil a mentoring role to develop local talent.

One film that characterises the social bite of these talented film makers is White Building(2022). This is a coming-of-age story told with a backdrop of modern greed as families are being threatened with eviction from a brutal white building that has been their home for years. Offered a pittance in compensation, families face an uncertain future in a city – Phnom Penh – that they can no longer afford.

The movie screened at many festivals world-wide and won warm reviews from journals such as the Guardian in the UK.

Check out these links. White Building trailer.

There will be blood. A Cambodian zombie flick

The action-packed Cambodian thriller: Jailbreak

Plus a look at Cambodia through the colonial eyes of the Pathe news crews of the early 20th Century.

Traditional Cambodian Instruments – Khloy

The soft tones of the Khloy bamboo flute are an essential ingredient in Khmer music. The word khloy is Khmer for “flute” and references to this instrument go back centuries to temple carvings going back further than the 7th Century, AD.

The khloy is a duct flute, played from the end, and has two sizes: the smaller, higher-pitched (khloy ek) and larger, less shrill and lower-pitched (khloy thomm). It has six finger holes and a thumb hole, or seven finger holes and no thumb hole. A hole above the highest finger hole may be covered with a membrane made of rice paper or bamboo inner skins.

The khloy uses a pentatonic scale – five notes per octave – and this differs from the western instrument that use a heptatonic (seven notes) scale to make up an octave.

Khloy produce a light, breathy, ethereal tone and is a feature not only as part of the pinpeat orchestra, but performed solo.

To hear the khloy click here. Or here. And on the BBC website, a story set in the dark days of Pol Pot, about a young Cambodian whose playing of the khloy saved his life. Cambodian played flute to escape death in Khmer Rouge labour camp. Click here.

For more music related links in this blog, check out these stories:

Snap crackle and pop. Preserving Cambodia’s vinyl history.

Traditional Cambodian musical instruments.

Romvong. Traditional Cambodia dance.

The tragic story of the Queen of Cambodian pop.

The tragedy of the King of Cambodian pop.

Cambodian traditional musical instruments

Despite the concerted effort by Pol Pot in the 1970s to eliminate all culture – film, literature and music – in an effort to reinvent society from the ground up, the traditions of music survived. Twenty years ago this was apparent in tourist areas with the presence of blind musicians playing in small ensembles. A local told me that I was perfectly within my rights to not give money to beggars – but in the case of musicians, I was told, a donation (and a purchase of their CD) was the right thing to do.

Roneat thung

The roneat thung or roneat thum (Khmer: រនាតធុង) is a low-pitched xylophone used in the classical music of Cambodia. It is built in the shape of a curved, rectangular shaped boat and the bars that are struck are made either of bamboo, hardwoods or – these days – metal. This instrument plays an important part in the typical ensemble called the “Pinpeat” ensemble. (See bottom right the stamps below. )

The roneat thung is used to begin a tune, laying down melody and beat for the other musicians to follow.

Over time I will introduce you to the other instruments in the ensemble but meanwhile have a listen to a solo performance. I loved the woody sound. The Youtube clip is composed and played by Prak Englean.

The Golden Voice – a graphic novel I look forward to reviewing

The ballad of Cambodia’s lost queen – Ros Serey Sothea

Prepared over more than two years with exquisite graphics, this novel tells the true story of beloved Cambodian singer Ros Serey Sothea, whose “Golden Voice” helped define Cambodia’s Golden Age of music until her mysterious disappearance in the killing fields of Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge. Developed in partnership with Sothea’s family the story is one I look forward to reviewing. Published in Khmer as well as English the 187pp book would make excellent teaching material in the modern Cambodian classroom.

I followed progress of the novel via the late twitter site and have loved the colours that capture the distinct light in Cambodia but also the faded Kodachrome quality that evokes a deep sense of nostalgia.

The illustrations are rich and evocative.

For more on popular music in Cambodia see also Sinn Sisamouth and the golden age of Khmer pop, New Cambodian Movie – In the Life of Music, and Cambodian Pop -celebrates a rural idyll as well as the glorious story of how rap found its way to Phnom Penh: An unlikely outcome – how praCh Ly’s Khmer rap music opened up and healed old war wounds

Cambodia 2024. Official Holidays

Here are the official holidays in Cambodia for 2024. Well worth checking if you’re planning a journey here.

• 1 January (Monday) – International New Year’s Day
• 7 January (Sunday) – Victory Day over Genocide
• 8 March (Friday) – International Women’s Day
• 13, 14, 15, 16 April (Saturday-Tuesday)– Khmer New Year
• 1 May (Wednesday) – International Labour Day
• 14 May (Tuesday) – His Majesty Preah Bat Samdech Preah Boromneath King Norodom Sihamoni’s Birthday
• 22 May (Wednesday) – Visak Bochea Day is a religious day which commemorates the birth, enlightenment, and death of Gautama Buddha.
• 26 May (Sunday) – Royal Plowing Ceremony
• 18 June (Tuesday) – Her Majesty the Queen-Mother NORODOM MONINEATH SIHANOUK of Cambodia
• 24 September (Tuesday) – Constitutional Day
• 1, 2, 3 October (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) – Pchum Ben Festival
• 15 October (Tuesday) – Mourning Day of the Late King-Father NORODOM SIHANOUK of Cambodia
• 29 October (Tuesday) – Coronation Day of His Majesty Preah Bat Samdech Preah Boromneath NORODOM SIHAMONI, King of Cambodia
• 9 November (Saturday) – National Independence Day
• 14, 15, 16 November (Thursday, Friday, Saturday) – Water Festival