Aekaphong Saransate and Thanakrit Duangmaneeporn’s documentary Breaking the Cycle (อำนาจ ศรัทธา อนาคต) will be shown at the Chiangrai Contemporary Art Museum on 25th October, at an event in Chiang Rai titled ตุลา ในความ “จองจำ” (‘in the “jail” of October’). Before the screening, Thanakrit will give a presentation titled นั่งคุยตุลา ใน อำนาจ ศรัทธา อนาคต (‘October and Breaking the Cycle’). Uruphong Raksasad will also give a presentation, titled บันทึกข้างถนนที่ถูกจองจำ (‘roadside records of imprisonment’), discussing his documentaries about the student street-protest movement.
Breaking the Cycle is a fly-on-the-wall account of the rise and fall of the Future Forward party, which was dissolved by the Constitutional Court in 2020. (Future Forward was founded as a progressive alternative to military dictatorship. The party came third in the 2019 election, after a wave of support for its charismatic leader, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, though he was disqualified as an MP by the Constitutional Court.)
The film begins in 2014 with Thanathorn’s determination to end the vicious cycle of military coups that has characterised Thailand’s modern political history. This mission gives the film its title, and Future Forward co-founder Piyabutr Saengkanokkul asks: “Why is Thailand stuck in this cycle of coups?” The documentary benefits from its extensive access to every senior figure within Future Forward. The directors were even able to film Thanathorn as he reacted to the guilty verdicts being delivered by the Constitutional Court.
Breaking the Cycle is a fly-on-the-wall account of the rise and fall of the Future Forward party, which was dissolved by the Constitutional Court in 2020. (Future Forward was founded as a progressive alternative to military dictatorship. The party came third in the 2019 election, after a wave of support for its charismatic leader, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, though he was disqualified as an MP by the Constitutional Court.)
The film begins in 2014 with Thanathorn’s determination to end the vicious cycle of military coups that has characterised Thailand’s modern political history. This mission gives the film its title, and Future Forward co-founder Piyabutr Saengkanokkul asks: “Why is Thailand stuck in this cycle of coups?” The documentary benefits from its extensive access to every senior figure within Future Forward. The directors were even able to film Thanathorn as he reacted to the guilty verdicts being delivered by the Constitutional Court.
The documentary ends with the caption “THE CYCLE CONTINUES”, which is sadly accurate: Future Forward’s successor, Move Forward, was dissolved by the Constitutional Court last year despite winning the 2023 election. The movement’s third incarnation, the People’s Party, endorsed Anutin Charnvirakul as Prime Minister, on the condition that he agreed to call a new election within four months.
Breaking the Cycle went on general release last year. It was later shown at the Thai Film Archive, as part of the Lost and Longing (แด่วันคืนที่สูญหาย) season. It was also screened at AEY Space in Songkla, and at the Bangsaen Film Festival (เทศกาลภาพยนตร์บางแสน) at Burapha University. It was part of the Hits Me Movies... One More Time programme at House Samyan in Bangkok, and earlier this year it was screened at Thammasat University and Chulalongkorn University. It was also shown in Bangkok last month.
Breaking the Cycle went on general release last year. It was later shown at the Thai Film Archive, as part of the Lost and Longing (แด่วันคืนที่สูญหาย) season. It was also screened at AEY Space in Songkla, and at the Bangsaen Film Festival (เทศกาลภาพยนตร์บางแสน) at Burapha University. It was part of the Hits Me Movies... One More Time programme at House Samyan in Bangkok, and earlier this year it was screened at Thammasat University and Chulalongkorn University. It was also shown in Bangkok last month.
