Скачать или смотреть Beyond Trauma Narratives: Modern Khmer American Writing

Rumduol 2025
50th Year Remembrance of the Khmer Rouge Genocide + 50 Year Celebration of the Contributions of the Cambodian American Community

The 50th anniversary of the Cambodian Genocide and Mass Killing is more than just a historical marker—it is a time to honor lives lost, support healing, and celebrate cultural resilience through the arts and film. By recognizing the past, educating the present, and inspiring the future, this commemoration ensures that the Cambodian people’s strength, history, and creativity continue to shine in Long Beach and across the world.

In this panel presentation and discussion, we will consider language as a portal to the past, present, and future. We address the question: How do we use writing to challenge and nurture the ongoing conversation about our history while also recognizing the evolution of Cambodian American identities?
Join us as we listen to the words of three amazing Khmer authors who have navigated their refugee journeys and transformed trauma into triumph through writing, and reflect on how you can enhance your personal journey by putting pen to paper.

FEATURED AUTHORS’ BIOS

Pichchenda Bao is a Cambodian American poet and writer, infant survivor of the Khmer Rouge regime, daughter of refugees and stay-at-home mother. Her most recent work has been published in The Offing, SWWIM, Cultural Daily, and elsewhere. She is co-editor of the poetry anthology, Braving the Body (Harbor Editions). She serves on the editorial board of Queensbound, an audio poetry project. She has received fellowships and awards from Aspen Words, Kundiman, Bethany Arts Community, and Queens Council on the Arts. She lives, writes and raises her three kids in New York City. More at www.pichchendabao.com

Samphors Chhun was born during the Killing Fields era in Cambodia and immigrated to the United States in 1982. Her family settled in San Diego, California, where she was raised. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from San Francisco State University and later obtained her Juris Doctor from the John F. Kennedy School of Law at Northcentral University. Samphors currently serves as an attorney for the California Department of Insurance, where she reviews health insurance policies for legal compliance. Her debut novel, The Aloha Murder Mystery, began as a vacation souvenir but has since evolved into the Sam Chhun Murder Mystery Series. Poet, writer, and storyteller Sanary Phen was born in a refugee camp in Thailand during the Khmer Rouge era in Cambodia. In 1981, she and her family emigrated to the United States and resettled in Lowell, which has been her home for over 40 years.

Sanary Phen brings more than 20 years of experience in the social work and nonprofit sector, having served in both direct service and administrative roles at organizations including the Justice Resource Institute, AgeSpan, Girls Inc. of Greater Lowell, and most recently, the Coalition for a Better Acre. She is also a freelance writer for the Lowell Sun and has been a dedicated volunteer with the Cambodian American Literary Arts Association since 2018. Sanary currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Nonprofit Alliance of Greater Lowell and Mosaic Lowell, an initiative advancing an arts economy plan for the City of Lowell through advocacy and resource development for local artists.
Passionate about the arts and deeply committed to community, Sanary takes pride in giving back to the city she calls home and to the people who have shaped her journey.

Dr. Christine Su is an educator, historian, writer, and community activist. The biracial daughter of a Khmer father and a Scottish mother, her research efforts focus on multiracial and transnational identity and Southeast Asian diasporic history and culture. She is the author of Voices of a New Generation: Cambodian Americans in the Creative Arts (2021), and Kroeung: Cambodian Cooking with Chef T (2022).
She is one of the authors of the Cambodian American Studies Model Curriculum (CASMC) project launched nationwide in 2025. The CASMC provides teachers with lesson plans, primary documents, and teaching strategies to integrate Cambodian culture history and curriculum into their classrooms.

Dr. Su is currently Visiting Faculty of Southeast Asian History and Asian American Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell.
Long Beach, CA – The heart of the Cambodian diaspora in Long Beach, CA will come alive this August and September as Rumduol 2025 presents a dynamic celebration of Cambodian Arts, Film, and Culture at The Ice House and The Art Theatre in Long Beach, CA. This highly anticipated event will showcase the rich traditions, creative talents, and powerful narratives of the Cambodian community through film screenings, live performances, art exhibitions, and cultural panels.

Please follow @cambodiatownfilmfestival or visit https://www.cambodiatownfilmfestival....
@rumduol2025 for the complete schedule   / rumduol2025