The Flute Player

2003 55 min Documentary

From 1975 to 1979, the Khmer Rouge led a campaign of death against every Cambodian believed to be educated. As a result, over 90 percent of the country's traditional musicians were killed. Now, as the handful of surviving musicians grow old and fall ill, a way of life quietly slips toward the brink of extinction. Facing this desperate situation is Arn Chorn Pond - a survivor of Cambodia's genocide, an internationally recognized human rights leader and a talented musician. Today Arn is striving to heal the deep scars of his wartorn past by bringing Cambodia's once outlawed traditional music back to his people. The Flute Player is a heroic story of one man's fight against the devastating effects of war. It is a film about sorrow and pain, dignity and freedom, and the will to survive.

director Jocelyn Glatzer