Vichart Somkaew’s documentary When My Father Was a Communist will be shown at the Tenessarim monument at Yang Nam Klat Nuea in Phetchaburi on 29th November. The screening is part of an event marking the eighty-third anniversary of the Communist Party of Thailand.
For When My Father Was a Communist, Vichart interviewed his father, Sawang, and other former members of the CPT. The film is a valuable social history, as the veterans explain their decisions to join the party, 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.”
For When My Father Was a Communist, Vichart interviewed his father, Sawang, and other former members of the CPT. The film is a valuable social history, as the veterans explain their decisions to join the party, 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.”
When My Father Was a Communist was first shown at the Us coffee shop in Phatthalung on 10th July. It was screened at Phimailongweek (พิมายฬองวีค) in Korat, and at the Chard Festival (ฉาด เฟสติวัล) in Phatthalung. It had four screenings on 10th August — at the Chinese Martyrs Memorial Museum in Chiang Rai, Suan Anya in Chiang Mai, Sakon Nakhon Rajabhat University, and Samakichumnum in Nakhon Phanom — as part of the nationwide ความฝันประชาชน (‘people’s dream’) arts event. Other screenings have included: Vongchavalitkul University in Korat on 23rd July, A.E.Y. Space in Songkla on 26th July, Lorem Ipsum in Hat Yai on 27th July, Phattalung’s red barrel memorial building on 7th August, Hope Space in Bangkok on 16th August, Walailak University in Nakhon Si Thammarat on 27th August, and Bookhemian in Phuket on 19th September.
