Vichart Somkaew’s documentary When My Father Was a Communist (เมื่อพ่อผมเป็นคอมมิวนิสต์) will be shown at the Backyard Cinematic microcinema in Trang, on 14th March. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with Vichart.
When My Father Was a Communist features interviews with the director’s father, Sawang, and other former members of the Communist Party of Thailand. The film is a valuable social history, as the veterans explain their decisions to join the CPT, and describe their experiences in the forests of Phatthalung.
When My Father Was a Communist is also a record of the state’s violent suppression of communist insurgents, hundreds (potentially thousands) of whom were burned in oil drums in 1972. These so-called ‘red barrel’ deaths were most prevalent in Phatthalung, and have never been officially investigated. (The names of the victims are listed before the film’s end credits.) There have been other documentaries about the red barrels, but When My Father Was a Communist stands out for Vichart’s close connections to the subject: this is a deeply personal project, as he was born in Phatthalung, and he is documenting the memories of his elderly father.
When My Father Was a Communist features interviews with the director’s father, Sawang, and other former members of the Communist Party of Thailand. The film is a valuable social history, as the veterans explain their decisions to join the CPT, and describe their experiences in the forests of Phatthalung.
When My Father Was a Communist is also a record of the state’s violent suppression of communist insurgents, hundreds (potentially thousands) of whom were burned in oil drums in 1972. These so-called ‘red barrel’ deaths were most prevalent in Phatthalung, and have never been officially investigated. (The names of the victims are listed before the film’s end credits.) There have been other documentaries about the red barrels, but When My Father Was a Communist stands out for Vichart’s close connections to the subject: this is a deeply personal project, as he was born in Phatthalung, and he is documenting the memories of his elderly father.
The film notes that the repressive atmosphere of the 1970s has not disappeared. One speaker says that the political system has barely changed since the military dictatorship after the 1976 coup. Another makes a direct comparison between the suppression of political opponents then and now: “dissolving political parties, slapping people with Article 112 charges... It’s like arresting them and throwing them in red barrels, but they do it in a different way now.”
This link between past and present is also found in Chatchawan Thongchan’s short film From Forest to City (อรัญนคร) and Thanaphon Accawatanyu’s play Wilderness (รักดงดิบ), both of which also compare the persecution of communists after 1976 to the recent student protest movement. When My Father Was a Communist has been screened around the country, including at Phimailongweek (พิมายฬองวีค) in Korat. Its most recent screening was at the Thai Film Archive in Salaya.
This link between past and present is also found in Chatchawan Thongchan’s short film From Forest to City (อรัญนคร) and Thanaphon Accawatanyu’s play Wilderness (รักดงดิบ), both of which also compare the persecution of communists after 1976 to the recent student protest movement. When My Father Was a Communist has been screened around the country, including at Phimailongweek (พิมายฬองวีค) in Korat. Its most recent screening was at the Thai Film Archive in Salaya.
