With Longing (ด้วยความคิดถึง) opens today at Kinjai Contemporary in Bangkok, and runs until 17th August. The exhibition includes The Night of Longing (ค่ำคืนแห่งความคิดถึง), an evening of screenings and discussions on 10th August, which will begin with Chaiyapol Kokiartcajon’s short film Dust Beneath the Sun (ผู้หญิงที่ยังอยู่).
Dust Beneath the Sun was inspired by the case of Ampon Tangnoppakul, who died in jail while serving a twenty-year sentence for lèse-majesté, and the film dramatises the moment when he is arrested and his home is searched by the police. Ampon was convicted on the basis of SMS messages allegedly sent from his cellphone, though he always denied sending them, and the film portrays him as a royalist, his house decorated with calendars and portraits of Rama IX. (Two songs composed by Rama IX are featured on the soundtrack.) The film was previously shown at The 28th Thai Short Film and Video Festival (เทศกาลภาพยนตร์สั้น ครั้งที่ 28), and in the online Short Film Marathon (หนังสั้นมาราธอน).