How the East was won
Play
The conference "500th Anniversary of Siam-Thailand Relations with Portugal and the West: 1511-2011" is next Thursday and Friday at Ayutthaya Rajabhat University. The general public is welcome.
Scholars Luisa Maria Gocalves Dutra, Rev Gregorius Alforius Pontus, Bhawan Ruangsilp and Erbprem Vatcharangkul and others will discuss colonialism, religious beliefs, early maps, World Heritage sites, tourism and other topics.
FILMS
“Bunda Reinha”, screening on Thursday at 3.30, is an Indonesian documentary about a statue of the Virgin Mary revered by the colonised Flores islanders.
“The King Maker”, on Friday at 8.30am, is a Thai action movie that delves into Ayutthaya court politics in 1547. It features a fictionalised Fernando de Gama, played by Gary Stretch, becoming a personal guard to the monarch.
In “A Talking Picture” on Friday at 11am, a mother and daughter take an adventure-filled cruise from Portugal to India. Manoel de Oliveira directs this 2003 movie.
“Lisbon Story” on Friday at 2pm follows Philip Winter on his mission to record the sounds of the city. Plans go askew, though, when his director vanishes amid cryptic messages.
Apart from the Ayutthaya conference, Yuwadee Vatcharangkul’s documentary “500 Years of Siam-Portugal Relations” will screen at the World Film Festival of Bangkok on Sunday at 1.30pm and Monday at 11am at the Esplanade Ratchadaphisek.
