bm266 Finding Cambodia’s Lost Culture

Bophana is an organization based in Phnom Penh, dedicated to finding and archiving video, audio, and text documentation of Cambodian culture.  Throughout the decades of war and the destructive Khmer Rouge regime, much of the nation’s audio-visual archives were lost. But Bophana has taken on the task of gathering this material, from private individuals in the country, or institutions and film companies abroad.  I was given an informative tour and a demonstration of how the archive works, later we recorded this podcast interview.

We Discuss:

  • What is Bophana
  • Who is behind this organization
  • Why should Cambodia need such a place
  • Types of activities and areas of interest
  • Funding sources, funding problems
  • Difficulties with finding skilled workers for this type of work

Music:

  • Apostle of Hustle – Folkloric Field
  • Kanye West – Heard’em Say