Getting Lao’D – World Premiere

Getting Lao’D – World Premiere

February 13th, 2018  |  Published in Media & Film

GETTING LAO’D: THE RISE OF MODERN LAO MUSIC AND FILMS
Directed by Steve Arounsak

World Premiere February 23, 2018 at the 6th Annual Seattle Asian American Film Festival (SAAFF). Additional 2018 dates to be announced.

After 25 years of silence, the private Lao music and film industries are reawakening. Filmed over 10 years, the documentary GETTING LAO’D: THE RISE OF MODERN LAO MUSIC AND FILMS follows a new generation of young pioneers as they reimagine Lao media in a Communist country. The film, featuring many of the country’s most prominent musicians and filmmakers, is perhaps the most comprehensive examination of the rise of modern music and films in Laos. Many neighboring countries in Southeast Asia have seen their music and film industries remain vibrant. Laos, however, remains shrouded in mystery due to its land-locked geography and communist regime. This documentary provides extremely rare insights on a media landscape that tipped the cultural fulcrum. This is a story about a small country with a big heart.

Steve Arounsack is an Associate Professor of Cultural Anthropology at California State University, Stanislaus and the Director of Keck Visual Anthropology Lab. In 2012 he won the Sony Electronics Faculty Award for Innovative Instruction with Technology. Steve has more than 15 years of experience in media development.