Mosquito buzzes into Rotterdam

Several of Thailand’s leading independent filmmakers, among them Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Aditya Assarat, Anocha Suwichakornpong and Pimpaka Towira, have banded together to start Mosquito Films Distribution.

Other founding partners are film editor Lee Chatametikool and producer Soros Sukhum. The company’s general manager is Sompot “Boat” Chidgasornpongse, a maker of short films who has worked as an assistant director under Apichatpong. 

The new shingle’s first releases are screening at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, where the launch of the company was announced this week. The films include Lee’s feature directorial debut “Concrete Clouds”, which is in the festival’s Tiger Awards competition.

Other Mosquito entries in Rotterdam are “The Songs of Rice” (“Pleng Khong Kao”) by Uruphong Raksasad, making its world premiere, “Letters from the South”, an omnibus about the Chinese diaspora in Southeast Asia with a segment by Aditya, and the acclaimed “Mary Is Happy, Mary Is Happy” by Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit, whose feature debut “36” was in Rotterdam’s competition last year.

“We are all friends who have collaborated during the productions of our previous films. The new company is about extending that collaboration into distribution as well,” Aditya says on the company’s website. “Our strategy is to start with our own titles while at the same time finding and introducing to the world the next generation of filmmakers.  We want to be the brand that comes to mind when you think of Southeast Asian cinema.”

Upcoming projects from Mosquito Films include “So Be It” by Kongdej Jaturanrasmee, “By the Time It Gets Dark” by Anocha, “Beer Girl” by Wichanon Somumjarn and “Railway Sleepers”, the long-in-the-works debut feature by Sompot. It was previously known as “Are We There Yet?”

Current offerings from the company also include a collection of Apichatpong’s short films, going all the way back to his first in 1994, “0116643225059” to 2012’s “Cactus River”.

“We are so busy day to day that we sometimes forget we have amassed quite a beautiful set of movies,” Apichatpong says. “I think it’s time we unite and share these films to the world. I, for one, am fascinated by the aesthetic of the new Thai films.”

Reflecting that history, the Rotterdam fest has a special programme this year, “Mysterious Objects – 25 Years of the Hubert Bals Fund”, which is a retrospective in honour of the fest’s film-support fund. The title of course refers to Apichatpong’s 2000 debut feature, the experimental documentary “Mysterious Object at Noon”, which again graces the Rotterdam big screen.

The Thai selection is further rounded out with a pair of shorts – Pimpaka’s Thai-Myanmar border drama “Malaria and Mosquitos” and Sorayos Prapapan’s mistreated-maid tale “Boonrerm”.

Apart from the offerings from the Mosquito gang, another world premiere in Rotterdam is Thunska Pansittivorakul’s “Supernatural” (“Nua Dhamma Chat”). It explores similar themes as Thunska’s previous efforts, including 2010’s “Reincarnate” and 2011’s “The Terrorists” except that it’s a fictional narrative feature – his first. All his previous films have been documentaries or documentary hybrids.

“According to Thunska, known for his independently-produced and taboo-breaking documentaries on homosexuality and politics, his first feature is science fiction, yet it is about today’s Thailand. For instance he criticises the need for religion and superstition,” the synopsis states. “But in the end, this very idiosyncratic, homo-erotically charged essay is above all about time: ‘Time influences everything. The past has to do with the present, and the present is linked to the future.’”

 

Four headed for campus

Mosquito Films’ Sompot hopefully has his cold-weather gear packed, because after Rotterdam, he will head to the Berlin International Film Festival, which runs from February 6 to 16. He’ll further promote his new business venture and take part in the Berlin Talent Campus. Joining him on campus will be three other indie Thai film figures, Pathompong “Big” manakitsomboon, Wanlop Rungkumjad and Rasiguet Sookkarn.

Pathompong cut his teeth as a programmer for the World Film Festival of Bangkok but for the past several years has been an independent programmer and curator. Last year, he was the producer of “Golden Teardrop”, the video by artist Arin Rungjang that was part of the Thai Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. He’s also been producing “Endless, Nameless”, an experimental film shot on Super 8mm stock by Pathompon Tesprateep. Big is constantly carrying a Super 8 camera as well, and is looking to getting into directing experimental films. 

Wanlop, a former art director, broke into acting in 2011 with the lead role in Sivaroj Kongsakul’s “Eternity” (“Tee-Rak”), which he followed up with “36” and “Mother”.

Rasiguet’s credits include art direction on Aditya’s short film “Six to Six” and production design on Kongdej’s last two features, “Tang Wong” and “P-047”.