NEW YEAR BABY Film Screening and Discussion
Saturday May 17, 2008 2:00 pm CDTChicago Cultural Center
78 E. Washington St.
Claudia Cassidy Theatre
FREE Advance screening of NEW YEAR BABY (coming to PBS on Independent Lens, MAY 27, 2008) with guest speakers to engage the public in a discussion about surviving genocide. We will hear the perspective of survivors and the next generation, who didn't experience the genocide first-hand and have been affected by it in other ways. We will get updated on what has been happening since the genocide and Cambodia's efforts to heal the nation.
NEW YEAR BABY (57 minutes) - Born in a Thai refugee camp on Cambodian New Year, filmmaker Socheata Poeuv grew up in the United States never knowing that her family had survived the Khmer Rouge genocide. In NEW YEAR BABY, she embarks on a journey to Cambodia in search of the truth and why her family's history had been buried in secrecy for so long.
Guest Speakers:
- Leon Lim, co-founder, Cambodian American Heritage Museum and Killing Fields Memorial
- Elizabeth Keo, Program Coordinator, Cambodian Association of Illinois
- Kathryn Lucatelli, Executive Director, Build Cambodia
- Inhe Choi of CAAAELII, Moderator
For more information, visit:
http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/getinvolved/cinema/
http://www.myspace.com/communitycinemachicago
The event is sponsored by The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, The Coalition of African, Arab, Asian, European and Latino Immigrants of Illinois (CAAAELII), The Cambodian Association of Illinois, Build Cambodia, ITVS and WTTW Channel 11.
Book Discussion Group
For the fourth installment of the Cambodia Book Discussion Group we will be reading a short book titled Painted Stories by Svay Ken.From the book's introduction:
"Svay Ken was born in Takeo Province in 1933. He came to Phnom Penh in the 1950's and worked as a waiter and handyman at the Hotel le Royal for more than thirty years. Svay Ken began to make paintings of everyday Cambodian life during the last years that he was working at the Hotel when he was about sixty years old. After his wife, Tith Yun, died in February 2000, Svay Ken sat down and wrote what he called 'the story of her life.' At the invitation of Reyum, Svay Ken began to paint pictures to go along with this written text. This book and the accompanying exhibition, mounted at Reyum in June of 2001, are the culmination of our project together."
These books were purchased in Cambodia so there are only a few copies. Email kathryn@buildcambodia.org if you would like to join the discussion and we will find a way to loan you a copy for the discussion.
Each week we present material from the book in an overview with the understanding that others are welcome to bring forth topics of interest, questions and insights of their own. This format allows for others to join or attend even if they haven't read and get something from it. It is designed to be very low pressure.
The discussions are held on Mondays over lunch at Au Bon Pain:
161 N. Clark St. (entrance on Randolph)
Chicago, IL 60601
Phone: 312-419-3837
The discussions go from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.
May 12 Through page 24
May 19 End of the book page 48
Previous selections:
Cambodia Now: Life in the Wake of War by Karen Coates
The Gate by Francois Bizot
Pol Pot, Anatomy of a Nightmare by Philip Short