Must See: Cambodian Rock Survivor Mol Kagnol via Skype at Belcourt's Don't Think I've Forgotten

When Third Man Records and The Belcourt hosted a special preview screening of Don't Think I've Forgotten: Cambodia's Lost Rock and Roll last month, it got one of the biggest turnouts — and receptions — in the history of James Cathcart's Light and Sound Machine series. The response was so powerful that The Belcourt booked the film for a week's run, which starts tonight.

In part, that's because the film tells a story as fascinating as it is little-known: that of the Western-influenced garage rock, surf music and tropical pop that flourished in Cambodia in the 1960s and early ’70s. The brutal rise of the Khmer Rouge all but literally killed the movement, targeting artists and musicians for torture and extermination. 

Among the surviving musicians who remember the period for director John Pirozzi is Mol Kagnol, whose surf-guitar band Baksey Cham Krong will come as a revelation to most viewers. (So will most of the insanely catchy music in film, unless you're among those who learned of it through pioneering compilations such as Cambodian Rocks.) And viewers can hear him discuss it in person via Skype in a talk after tonight's 7 p.m. show — a remarkable chance to get first-hand information to supplement the treasure trove of clips and cuts in the movie.

Below, the trailer.