Controversies aired
Salaya Doc dares to get political with entries from around Southeast Asia
Political films are at the heart of the third Salaya International Documentary Film Festival next week, with entries from around Southeast Asia and beyond.
Salaya Doc opens at 5pm on Monday at the Thai Film Archive in Salaya, Nakhon Pathom, with “Boundary” (“Fahtum Pandinsoong”), young filmmaker Nontawat Numbenchapol’s look at the disputed border area around Cambodia’s Preah Vihear temple. It premiered at last month’s Berlin International Film Festival.
Indian documentarian Sourav Sarangi also looks at a border area with his latest, “Char ... the No-Man’s Island”, about inhabitants of islands along the winding river between India and Bangladesh. It was also featured at the Berlin fest. Another of Sarangi’s films, 2008’s “Bilal”, about a boy living with his blind parents, will screen as part of a special programme. And Sarangi will be teaching a workshop to registered participants.
More political heat comes from Thai Film Archive, which unspools the rarely screened “14 October” by Shin Klaipan. It is historic newsreel footage from the tumultuous days of October 6 to 14, 1973, capturing the demonstrations by pro-democracy students against the dictatorship. It was inducted into the Culture Ministry’s Films as National Heritage registry in 2011.
Shining a controversial light on one of our neighbours is “Nargis: When Time Stopped Breathing”, in which a pair of Myanmar filmmakers defied a government ban on videotaping the devastation from the May 2008 cyclone. Moving quietly around destroyed areas of the Irrawaddy Delta, they recorded scenes of residents who lost everything.
The “Freedom Malaysia” package offers a trio of short-subject looks at the politics and policies of another neighbour. “The Rights of the Dead” focuses on the 2009 death of political aide Teoh Beng Hock. “M-C-M” looks at the dire hopes of young Malaysians have of becoming homeowners. And “The Silent Riot” chronicles a power struggle that took place in Sabah State.
Japan offers a break from politics with “The Cat that Lived a Million Times”, about Yuko Sano dealing with her cancer diagnosis. The 70-year-old author is best known for her 1977 children’s book of the same title.
And there will be “Q Docs”, all from Southeast Asia: “Children of Srikandi” about an Indonesian lesbian community, “Two Girls Against the Rain” by Sao Sopheak from Cambodia, and “Burmese Butterfly”, about a transgender woman in Myanmar. The Thai entry, “Consider” by Panu Seang-xuto, is about the consequences of a school principal’s public humiliation of a student.
The Asean Documentary Film Competition has nine features and shorts from six countries:
“Before the Wedlock House”, Liao Jie Kai, Singapore – On the day of her wedding, a young woman spends one last day in her childhood room, dressing up and waiting for her groom to take her away.
“Denok and Gareng”, Dwi Sujanti Nugraheni, Indonesia – A poor young couple struggles while establishing a pig farm, which is taboo in the predominantly Muslim country.
“Durga”, Jingyu Wong, Singapore/India – Childhood marriage is still practised in parts of India, and 16-year-old Durga is among those trapped in a situation beyond her control.
“The Hills are Alive”, Steve Pillar Setiabudi, Indonesia – A glance at family life in a village around the erupting Mount Merapi volcano in 2010.
“Overlay”, Nattanop Traiteepueng, Thailand – Chiang Mai’s city-planning issues come to a head when a university proposes a huge dormitory that will change a temple community forever.
“Saleng” (“Recycle Trishaw”), Wasunan Hutawach, Chulayarnnon Siriphol and Ukrit Pornsampansuk, Thailand
“Tondo, Beloved: To What Are the Poor Born?”, Jewel Maranan, Philippines – An impoverished family ekes out an existence from the waters of Manila’s port.
“Where I Go”, Kavich Neang, Cambodia – A mixed-race Cambodian-Cameroonian man struggles with daily discrimination and his own identity.
“With or Without Me”, Tran Phuong Thao and Swann Dubus, Vietnam – Two separate stories look at young men on the fringes of society struggling with their heroin addiction.
In addition to screenings in Salaya, the festival also runs at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, with the competition films screening Tuesday through Thursday – Sourav Sarangi’s films next Friday and more special programmes on April 6 and 7. The closing ceremonies and awards also take place at the Culture Centre at 5pm on April 7.
DOCS ORDERED
The Salaya International Documentary Film Festival runs from Monday to April 7 at the Thai Film Archive in Salaya, Nakhon Pathom, and from Tuesday to April 7 in the fifth-floor auditorium at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre.
For the schedule, see www.Facebook.com/SalayaDoc.
