Apichatpong, sex and watermelons

Apichatpong Weerasethakul will be there with “Century of Kings”. Aditya Assarat, Sivaroj Kongsakul and Pramote Sangsorn are combining for the three-segment sex omnibus “Nude Project”. And Anocha Suwichakornpong collaborates with Bosnian visual artist Sejla Kameric on “ForeverAwhile”.
“Century of Kings” will be the first full-length feature from Apichatpong since his Cannes Palme d’Or-winning “Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives”. It’s also an extension on themes explored in his recent short- and medium-length works “Mekong Hotel” and “Cactus River”. He’ll again be working with his “Uncle Boonmee” producers Simon Field and Keith Griffiths and his long-time actress Jenjira Widner, whose character is based on her recent real-life marriage to a retired German soldier.
The story involves her caring for a soldier with a strange case of sleeping sickness, and her attention to the man causes her husband to be concerned.
Phantoms, shared dreams and the carcass of an unidentified animal are also involved in this tale, which Apichatpong says is inspired by the “blanketing” influence of the military and the monarchy.
“Nude Project” has Pramote, Aditya and Sivaroj each directing a segment based on a single theme: sex. “The filmmakers explore the nature of sexual desire and sexuality in different social contexts in Thai society,” says the project statement. Inspirations for the stories come from repressed and censored societal notions about sex and how parents set examples for sexual behavior.
Anocha collaborates with Sejla, a visual artist she met in Copenhagen. Their project, “ForeverAwhile” “will comprise a series of fragments, with each fragment’s narrative seemingly disconnected to one another. Some fragments will be short, lasting under a minute in duration, while some will be much longer. Some fragments will also be repeated, sometimes (but not always) with a slight variation.”
Watermelons falling off the back of a truck and smashing on the road, footprints in the snow, hands setting a table and silent record player are among the images. The project, which aims to be a 60-minute film/visual art crossover, is produced by Copenhagen’s DOX:LAB, the Center for Contemporary Arts, Sarajevo and Anocha’s own Electric Eel Films.
HAF runs from March 18 to 20 as part of the Entertainment Expo Hong Kong.

B IS FOR BANJONG

Along with his forthcoming horror comedy “Pee Mak Phra Khanong” – a twist on the classic “Mae Nak” ghost story – director Banjong Pisunthanakun will be hitting big screens in the US as one of the 26 directors of “The ABCs of Death”.
Produced by Drafthouse Films and Magnet Pictures, “ABCs” premiered at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival and was released last week in video-on-demand form in the US. A limited theatrical release is also planned in the US for March 8.
Each director got to choose a letter of the English alphabet and then make a short scary film about it.
In an online interview with the Strange Kids Club, Banjong said his heart was set on the letter “Z ... as in zoo”. But that was already taken, so he made “N is for Nuptials”, which he describes as “wicked and fun”.
At this point there’s no hint that fans in Thailand will get to see “The ABCs of Death” on the big screen, but at least we’ll be seeing “Pee Mak Phra Khanong” before anyone else. It’s due out on March 28.