Say hello to cinema

The World Film Festival of Bangkok turns 12 this year and it’s back at SF World Cinema in CentralWorld from October 17 to 26 with a selection of 59 acclaimed movies from around the globe. This year too, it will be travelling out to the provinces, offering viewers in Khon Kaen, Pattaya and Chiang Mai the chance to see features, shorts and documentaries they would not usually have the chance to enjoy.

“The film festival is an opportunity to taste the cultures of several different countries,” says festival director Victor Silakong.

The opener will be the heart-warming Thai documentary “Poo Somboon”, in which director Krissada Tipchaimeta chronicles the lives of an elderly couple as illness overtakes them. It shows Somboon taking care of the physical and mental needs of his sick wife and will no doubt have younger viewers questioning if they too will be able to understand and match the level of love and affection vital to sustaining a relationship after decades of marriage.

Another Thai documentary “Golden Demonic” dwells on love for the environment, showing how a group of youngsters set out to rehabilitate a rural area of Phichit province contaminated by gold mining.

For its 12th edition, the festival aims to embrace the knowledge, technology, beliefs and creativity of the digital era that Victor says are best reflected in the experimental movie “Goodbye to Language” in 3D. It’s the latest outing by influential filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard.

Most of the selected films have been made over the past two years though there are notable exceptions in the form of such classics as Israeli comedy “The Band’s Visit” and the complete 147-minute version of the silent sci-fi tale “Metropolis”.

“Metropolis” closed out the first World Film Festival of Bangkok in 2003, when it was screened at the Thailand Cultural Centre with a live music accompaniment by the philharmonic orchestra from Mahidol University’s College of Music.

Further footage was later found in Argentina and has since been added to make the story more complete.

World Film’s habitue Tsai Ming-liang returns to Bangkok with his new film “Journey to the West”, which sees his slow-walking monk (Lee Kang-sheng) on the road to Marseilles.

Also screening are three films selected to present their countries in the Best Foreign Language category at the Oscars.

Taiwan’s entry to the Academy is “Ice Poison” from Taipei-based Myanmar director Midi Z. 

It tells the story of a young farmer and his father forced to leave the mountains of Shan State to seek financial help from relatives working in jade mines and on opium plantations. Unable to borrow money, the father pawns his cow to buy a motorbike so that his son can earn a living as a taxi driver. His first customer is Sanmei, a drug runner who convinces the young man to be her driver.

Canada’s Oscar selection “Mommy” by Xavier Dolan focuses on a widowed single mother raising her violent son alone. She finds new hope when a mysterious neighbour inserts herself into the household.

French-Mauritanian drama “Timbuktu” by Abderrahmane Sissako, the African country’s submission to the Oscars, portrays the troubles in restive Mali, pitting a farmer and his family against a group of militant Islamic rebels who have taken over the ancient town and are imposing their strict religious views on the population.

From Malaysia comes the blockbuster “The Journey”, which earned RM17.16 million (Bt171 million) at the box office earlier this year. It looks at cross-cultural relationships through the story of a Malaysian woman who returns home with a British fiance to seek her father’s approval for their marriage. Opposed at first, he then agrees but only on condition that the wedding ceremony follows traditions. Thus Ben and his soon-to-be father-in-law set out on a long trip to hand-deliver wedding invitations, learning to accept each other’s differences along the way.

“Journey” director Chiu Keng Guan will be in Bangkok for the festival and will present his documentary “End Credits”, which goes behind-the-scenes of the casting of the its eight elderly characters.

Thanks to a collaboration with the French Animation Festival, movie fans of all ages will be able to enjoy “A Cat in Paris” by Jean-Loup Felicioli and Alain Gagnol and “The Congress” by Ali Folman.

The festival will close with “The Tale of Princess Kaguya”, the latest animation from Studio Gibhli. Directed and co-written by Isao Takahata, it is based on the “The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter” and is his first film in 14 years.

The festival's annual Lotus Award for lifetime achievement will go to actor-director Pisan Akraseranee. Particularly active during the 1980s, his best-known works include “Monrak Asoon” and “Rak Oei”.

To make the festival more enjoyable for viewers in the provinces, Thai subtitles are being provided for 20 movies including “Ice Poison”, the Sundance-winning musical drama “Whiplash” from the US, “The Blueroom” and also “Metropolis”. English subtitles will as ever be provided. 

 Victor says that with movies now in digital format, there’s no reason not to take the festival on tour. Such an undertaking in the past would have posed massive logistical problems with up to 20 kilograms of film rolls required for each film.

SF Cinema City vice-president Suwannee Chinchiawsharn says Khon Kaen audiences are already looking forward to the event.

“The province has a lot of movie enthusiasts and we are also seeing many local productions such as the recent indie hit ‘Phoobao Thai Baan E-San Indy (PBTB),” she says..

SF Cinema is working closely with the film festival and is hosting film talks led by movie directors and film critics.

The festival also continues its support of the region’s filmmakers with the Produire au Sud workshop. Two Thai projects will compete for backing – “Arnold is a Model Student” directed by Sorayos Prapapan and produced by Donsaron Kovitvanitcha and “Orn” directed and produced by Thammaruja Dharmasaroja.

 

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