Music Saves My Soul

Music Saves My Soul is an intimate portrait of an individual who finds solace in art. It focuses on a day in the life of Khamlek Xayasith, a cleaning lady by day and traditional singer at night. Illiterate until her 50s, she still performs in the lesser-known singing style Khub Thoum, Arn Nung Seu (literally, "book reading") found in Luang Prabang, where lyrics are not written by a single composer but arise organically from the singers themselves. As the film progresses, it reveals her history of mistreatment from male figures in the home: sexual harrassment from a stepfather, unfaithfulness from ex-husbands, and abandonment by her song. Shaped by hardship, Khamlek rises above the traditional gender roles prescribed for women to find shelter and identity in her own songs, creating beauty from ashes.