Spanish comedian Dani Mateo appeared in court on 26th November, after being charged with disrespecting a national symbol. On his satirical news programme El Intermedio (‘the intermission’), he blew his nose on the Spanish flag, and then stroked and kissed it in a mock apology. Representatives of a police union filed charges against the TV presenter after the show was broadcast on 31st October. The TV channel, laSexta, deleted the sketch from its website the next day.
29 November 2018
26 November 2018
BNK44
BNK44, the anti-coup punk concert that was cancelled last month, went ahead yesterday at Angoon’s Garden in Bangkok. After police raided the original venue, the event was rescheduled several times at alternative locations. The concert was organised by the team behind จะ4ปีแล้วนะ (‘4 years already’).
22 November 2018
攻占
21 November 2018
Thibaan:
The Series 2.2
Thibaan: The Series 2.2 (ไทบ้านเดอะซีรีส์ 2.2), directed by Surasak Pongson, was banned by Thai film censors yesterday, two days before its scheduled release. The censors objected to a scene in which a young monk breaks down in tears at the funeral of his ex-girlfriend. The Thai Film Director Association held a press conference this afternoon at Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, during which they played the contentious sequence. (The three-minute clip shows the monk sobbing as he clutches his ex-girlfriend's coffin. On Facebook, the director described it as the emotional heart of the film.)
A handful of other Thai films have been banned in the past decade: This Area Is Under Quarantine (บริเวณนี้อยู่ภายใต้การกักกัน), Insects in the Backyard (อินเซค อินเดอะ แบ็คยาร์ด), Shakespeare Must Die (เชคสเปียร์ต้องตาย), Boundary (ฟ้าตํ่าแผ่นดินสูง), and Karma (อาบัติ). Additionally, Syndromes and a Century (แสงศตวรรษ), Headshot (ฝนตกขึ้นฟ้า), Angulimala (องคุลิมาล), and หลวงตา 3 สีกาข้างวัด have been censored due to their depiction of monks, a disclaimer was added to the short film Luang Ta (หลวงตา), and there were protests in 2007 over two prize-winning paintings that represented monks in an unflattering light.
A handful of other Thai films have been banned in the past decade: This Area Is Under Quarantine (บริเวณนี้อยู่ภายใต้การกักกัน), Insects in the Backyard (อินเซค อินเดอะ แบ็คยาร์ด), Shakespeare Must Die (เชคสเปียร์ต้องตาย), Boundary (ฟ้าตํ่าแผ่นดินสูง), and Karma (อาบัติ). Additionally, Syndromes and a Century (แสงศตวรรษ), Headshot (ฝนตกขึ้นฟ้า), Angulimala (องคุลิมาล), and หลวงตา 3 สีกาข้างวัด have been censored due to their depiction of monks, a disclaimer was added to the short film Luang Ta (หลวงตา), and there were protests in 2007 over two prize-winning paintings that represented monks in an unflattering light.
20 November 2018
Quavo Huncho
Quavo Huncho is the debut solo album from Quavo, the rapper who has previously performed as part of a trio (Migos) and duo (Huncho Jack). One track, Champagne Rosé, features guest vocals by Madonna and Cardi B.
09 November 2018
Diva
08 November 2018
Kalaland
07 November 2018
“HAPPY NEW YEAR”
Police officers and soldiers in Ubon Ratchathani have seized copies of a 2019 wall calendar. The calendar features photographs of Thaksin and Yingluck Shinawatra, the message “HAPPY NEW YEAR” in English and Thai (“สวัสดีปีใหม่ 2019”), and new year’s greetings from the two former prime ministers.
5,553 of the calendars were confiscated yesterday. The seizure came a day after a woman in Udon Thani, who posted photographs of the calendar online, was visited by police officers and soldiers.
Similar calendars were banned in 2016, along with plastic Songkran bowls (seized from Pheu Thai MPs in Nan province), which also featured seasonal messages from Thaksin and Yingluck. All political activity has been prohibited by the military junta for the past four years. Thaksin and Yingluck were both removed from office by military coups (in 2006 and 2014, respectively).
5,553 of the calendars were confiscated yesterday. The seizure came a day after a woman in Udon Thani, who posted photographs of the calendar online, was visited by police officers and soldiers.
Similar calendars were banned in 2016, along with plastic Songkran bowls (seized from Pheu Thai MPs in Nan province), which also featured seasonal messages from Thaksin and Yingluck. All political activity has been prohibited by the military junta for the past four years. Thaksin and Yingluck were both removed from office by military coups (in 2006 and 2014, respectively).
04 November 2018
The Definitive Guide to Horror Movies
The book was originally conceived and edited by James Marriott (who also contributed most of the reviews), with ten essays by Kim Newman. Marriott died in 2012, so the additional reviews in the third edition were all written by Stephen Thrower. For this year's edition, the new reviews have all been written by Owen Williams. Whereas the first edition was published in hardback, with colour photographs, the images in the subsequent paperback editions are all black-and-white.
02 November 2018
Cemetery of Splendour
Apichatpong Weerasethakul will show his most recent feature film, Cemetery of Splendour (รักที่ขอนแก่น), at the Thai Film Archive in Salaya on 19th November. The film was shown internationally in 2015, though it did not receive a Thai theatrical release.
Once bitten, twice shy: Apichatpong’s film Syndromes and a Century (แสงศตวรรษ) was cut by the Thai censorship board, and he therefore decided not to submit Cemetery of Splendour to the censors, meaning it could not be shown in Thai cinemas. (He did arrange a low-key screening for an invited audience at a mobile cinema in his home town of Chiang Mai on 23rd February.)
It is, of course, a sad irony that one of the world’s most acclaimed directors feels unable to show his work in his own country. Interviewed in 2016 for the forthcoming book Thai Cinema Uncensored, he said that he had been inexplicably singled out by the censors: “I think that whatever I do, I will be targeted. Either a ghost movie, or whatever. It’s a paranoid time. They’re willing to do a witch-hunt, so I become paranoid of them in my own way, and I don’t want to risk it. As long as I manage to finish this film as I want, and show it, but not here.”
His hesitancy is due primarily to one sequence in Cemetery of Splendour, in which an audience stands in silence. Thai cinemagoers are required to stand for the royal anthem before film screenings, though the anthem cannot be included in films themselves, as Apichatpong explained in his Thai Cinema Uncensored interview: “I actually wanted to show the royal anthem, because it’s documentary-like. It’s what we do. But I know it’s impossible, because in the movie Soi Cowboy [ซอยคาวบอย], this was cut out. Censored. So I said, ‘It’s impossible anyway.’ So, just silence.” Concerned that the silent scene could be misinterpreted, Apichatpong removed it from all DVD and blu-ray releases of the film, in case they were ever circulated in Thailand.
Like the director’s other work, the film is not directly political, though it does include subtle visual references to Thai politics. A portrait of dictator Sarit Thanarat is visible in the background of one scene, implying the military’s continued influence. (Similarly, a statue of Sarit looms over the characters in Apichatpong’s short film Song of the City, part of the portmanteau film Ten Years Thailand.) Also, one of the characters keeps a journal, in which he writes that lèse-majesté convict Ampon Tangnoppakul should be released (“ขอให้อากงได้ออกมา”). (Apichatpong’s short film Ashes includes footage of a demonstration by Ampon’s supporters.)
Cemetery of Splendour will be screened to celebrate Apichatpong receiving the FIAF Award from the International Federation of Film Archives. Previously, the Thai Film Archive screened his short film A Letter to Uncle Boonmee (จดหมายถึงลุงบุญมี) to mark his Palme d’Or (‘golden palm’) win at the Cannes Film Festival.
Once bitten, twice shy: Apichatpong’s film Syndromes and a Century (แสงศตวรรษ) was cut by the Thai censorship board, and he therefore decided not to submit Cemetery of Splendour to the censors, meaning it could not be shown in Thai cinemas. (He did arrange a low-key screening for an invited audience at a mobile cinema in his home town of Chiang Mai on 23rd February.)
It is, of course, a sad irony that one of the world’s most acclaimed directors feels unable to show his work in his own country. Interviewed in 2016 for the forthcoming book Thai Cinema Uncensored, he said that he had been inexplicably singled out by the censors: “I think that whatever I do, I will be targeted. Either a ghost movie, or whatever. It’s a paranoid time. They’re willing to do a witch-hunt, so I become paranoid of them in my own way, and I don’t want to risk it. As long as I manage to finish this film as I want, and show it, but not here.”
His hesitancy is due primarily to one sequence in Cemetery of Splendour, in which an audience stands in silence. Thai cinemagoers are required to stand for the royal anthem before film screenings, though the anthem cannot be included in films themselves, as Apichatpong explained in his Thai Cinema Uncensored interview: “I actually wanted to show the royal anthem, because it’s documentary-like. It’s what we do. But I know it’s impossible, because in the movie Soi Cowboy [ซอยคาวบอย], this was cut out. Censored. So I said, ‘It’s impossible anyway.’ So, just silence.” Concerned that the silent scene could be misinterpreted, Apichatpong removed it from all DVD and blu-ray releases of the film, in case they were ever circulated in Thailand.
Like the director’s other work, the film is not directly political, though it does include subtle visual references to Thai politics. A portrait of dictator Sarit Thanarat is visible in the background of one scene, implying the military’s continued influence. (Similarly, a statue of Sarit looms over the characters in Apichatpong’s short film Song of the City, part of the portmanteau film Ten Years Thailand.) Also, one of the characters keeps a journal, in which he writes that lèse-majesté convict Ampon Tangnoppakul should be released (“ขอให้อากงได้ออกมา”). (Apichatpong’s short film Ashes includes footage of a demonstration by Ampon’s supporters.)
Cemetery of Splendour will be screened to celebrate Apichatpong receiving the FIAF Award from the International Federation of Film Archives. Previously, the Thai Film Archive screened his short film A Letter to Uncle Boonmee (จดหมายถึงลุงบุญมี) to mark his Palme d’Or (‘golden palm’) win at the Cannes Film Festival.