This year’s Bangkok International Film Festival (เทศกาลภาพยนตร์นานาชาติกรุงเทพฯ) finishes today. (It opened on 19th July at CentralWorld’s SF World cinema, and was originally scheduled to take place between 29th January and 5th February.) Today’s screenings include the graphic Shortbus (also shown yesterday) and Luis Buñuel’s scandalous Un chien andalou (‘an Andalusian dog’; previously shown on 20th July).
Following extensive criticism of last year’s expensive follies (star guests who left as quickly as they arrived; corporate events that were abandoned after the first day), the entire festival management team has been replaced. The only serious mistake this year was to withdraw the proposed opening film, Persepolis, after pressure from the Iranian government. The highlight was Ploy (พลอย), shown uncut on 24th and 26th July. A panel discussion on film ratings and censorship was held this afternoon.
Following extensive criticism of last year’s expensive follies (star guests who left as quickly as they arrived; corporate events that were abandoned after the first day), the entire festival management team has been replaced. The only serious mistake this year was to withdraw the proposed opening film, Persepolis, after pressure from the Iranian government. The highlight was Ploy (พลอย), shown uncut on 24th and 26th July. A panel discussion on film ratings and censorship was held this afternoon.
