Abstract:

Nearly thirty years ago, Pol Pot overtook Cambodia and over one million perished in the Khmer Rouge's brutal "killing fields." Many others were forced into unspeakable acts in order to survive. Arn Chorn Pond is one of these survivors. Now, after living in the United States for 20 years, Arn is a musician and activist, traveling the country and giving lectures on human rights. He is also on a mission to reconcile the demons of his past. THE FLUTE PLAYER chronicles his return to Cambodia, where he has begun a master musician project to revive the traditional music that was lost under the Khmer Rouge. A complex and moving film, it reveals the history and tradition lost to Arn's generation and the search for healing and forgiveness in a country wounded by war.