The 1st Lung Film Festival (ลุงฟิล์มเฟสติวัลครั้งที่ 1), taking place in Phatthalung from 4th to 26th July, will include a retrospective of films by Nontawat Numbenchapol. The Lens of the Marginalized: Documenting Identity and Blurred Borders (บันทึกตัวตนและพรมแดนที่พร่าเลือน), at the Us coffee shop, will feature all of Nontawat’s feature-length documentaries, including his early works Boundary (ฟ้าต่ำแผ่นดินสูง), By the River (สายน้ำติดเชื้อ), and Soil Without Land (ดินไร้แดน). (A previous Nontawat retrospective, Underdocs, was held in Bangkok in 2019.)
Boundary
Boundary documents the 2008 conflict between Thailand and Cambodia when the disputed Preah Vihear Temple was exploited for nationalist political gain. The issue was so sensitive that the director couldn’t even reveal his identity while filming at the temple. As he told me in an interview for Thai Cinema Uncensored: “I could not tell anyone in Cambodia that I’m Thai, because it would be hard to shoot. I had to tell everybody I’m Chinese-American... My name was Thomas in Cambodia.”
Boundary is composed largely of silent, still sequences depicting the serenity of rural life, as a counterpoint to the fierce border dispute surrounding the temple. Nontawat begins by interviewing Aod, a young soldier, in his home village. Idyllic sequences of novice monks bathing and Aod’s father fishing are contrasted with Aod describing his military conscription and the army’s crackdown against red-shirt protesters in 2010.
After footage of the Thai military firing at their Cambodian counterparts near Preah Vihear, we see damage to houses and a school close to the temple, caused by bombs and gunfire from Cambodian troops. Finally, at the end of the film, Nontawat’s camera explores the temple itself, the ruined Khmer compound that has been the subject of such bloodshed and ultra-nationalism.
It remains a topical film, as another border dispute between the two countries took place last year, and the issue was a significant factor in Bhumjaithai’s election victory in February. The Thai–Cambodia conflict also resulted in the dismissal of Paetongtarn Shinawatra as prime minister, following a leaked telephone call between Paetongtarn and former Cambodian PM Hun Sen, in which she appeared to side with Cambodia against her own military.
The phone call took place on 15th June, and the Cambodian government released a recording of it online a few days later, to embarrass Paetongtarn at a time of rising tensions between the two countries. During the conversation, Paetongtarn criticised Boonsin Padklang, a regional military commander: “As for the opposition to the Thai government, such as the 2nd Army Region commander, he could say anything that doesn’t benefit the country — anything just to make himself look cool”.
Boundary will be shown at LFF on 12th July. It was previously shown at Lido Connect and Warehouse 30 in Bangkok in 2019. It was screened four times last year: at Chiang Mai University, at Phimai, at the Thai Film Archive, and at Thammasat University. It has been subject to censorship twice: it was cut before its theatrical release in 2013, and a screening in Chonburi was prohibited by the military in 2015.
When Nontawat submitted the film to the censorship board, they announced that it had been banned, though two days later they performed a U-turn, explaining that the earlier announcement had been made by an unauthorised sub-committee. A token cut was required before the film was eventually approved by the censors: background audio of a crowd chanting “Long live the king!” at a New Year countdown was muted. Inexplicably, the film received a restrictive ‘18’ rating.
The censors had also argued that the film’s account of the 2010 military crackdown was misleading. A text caption in the film explains: “Almost 100 people were killed.” A comprehensive report by the People’s Information Center concluded that there were ninety-four casualties, which seems to validate the ‘almost 100’ claim, and ultimately, the statistic was not cut from the film.
Initially unable to secure regular theatrical distribution, Nontawat was forced to negotiate with cinemas independently, selling tickets personally in the lobby of each venue. (Thai Cinema Uncensored covers the controversy surrounding the film’s release in more detail.)
Boundary is composed largely of silent, still sequences depicting the serenity of rural life, as a counterpoint to the fierce border dispute surrounding the temple. Nontawat begins by interviewing Aod, a young soldier, in his home village. Idyllic sequences of novice monks bathing and Aod’s father fishing are contrasted with Aod describing his military conscription and the army’s crackdown against red-shirt protesters in 2010.
After footage of the Thai military firing at their Cambodian counterparts near Preah Vihear, we see damage to houses and a school close to the temple, caused by bombs and gunfire from Cambodian troops. Finally, at the end of the film, Nontawat’s camera explores the temple itself, the ruined Khmer compound that has been the subject of such bloodshed and ultra-nationalism.
It remains a topical film, as another border dispute between the two countries took place last year, and the issue was a significant factor in Bhumjaithai’s election victory in February. The Thai–Cambodia conflict also resulted in the dismissal of Paetongtarn Shinawatra as prime minister, following a leaked telephone call between Paetongtarn and former Cambodian PM Hun Sen, in which she appeared to side with Cambodia against her own military.
The phone call took place on 15th June, and the Cambodian government released a recording of it online a few days later, to embarrass Paetongtarn at a time of rising tensions between the two countries. During the conversation, Paetongtarn criticised Boonsin Padklang, a regional military commander: “As for the opposition to the Thai government, such as the 2nd Army Region commander, he could say anything that doesn’t benefit the country — anything just to make himself look cool”.
Boundary will be shown at LFF on 12th July. It was previously shown at Lido Connect and Warehouse 30 in Bangkok in 2019. It was screened four times last year: at Chiang Mai University, at Phimai, at the Thai Film Archive, and at Thammasat University. It has been subject to censorship twice: it was cut before its theatrical release in 2013, and a screening in Chonburi was prohibited by the military in 2015.
When Nontawat submitted the film to the censorship board, they announced that it had been banned, though two days later they performed a U-turn, explaining that the earlier announcement had been made by an unauthorised sub-committee. A token cut was required before the film was eventually approved by the censors: background audio of a crowd chanting “Long live the king!” at a New Year countdown was muted. Inexplicably, the film received a restrictive ‘18’ rating.
The censors had also argued that the film’s account of the 2010 military crackdown was misleading. A text caption in the film explains: “Almost 100 people were killed.” A comprehensive report by the People’s Information Center concluded that there were ninety-four casualties, which seems to validate the ‘almost 100’ claim, and ultimately, the statistic was not cut from the film.
Initially unable to secure regular theatrical distribution, Nontawat was forced to negotiate with cinemas independently, selling tickets personally in the lobby of each venue. (Thai Cinema Uncensored covers the controversy surrounding the film’s release in more detail.)
By the River
By the River will be shown at LFF on 11th July. The film highlights the effects of lead pollution in the water of Lower Klity Creek in Kanchanaburi: when fishermen complained about poisoned fish, the local government simply told them to “find something else to eat.” As Nontawat explained in his Thai Cinema Uncensored interview: “This film is about toxins in the river. It captures the people who live around the river: their lives at that moment.”
The film’s subject is no less controversial than that of Boundary, as mining companies filed defamation lawsuits in 2016 and 2017 after similar investigations into water pollution. (The first case was dismissed, and the second was settled out of court.)
The film’s subject is no less controversial than that of Boundary, as mining companies filed defamation lawsuits in 2016 and 2017 after similar investigations into water pollution. (The first case was dismissed, and the second was settled out of court.)
Soil Without Land
Soil Without Land’s LFF screening is on 12th July. Boundary explored the Thai-Cambodia border dispute through the experience of a newly conscripted soldier, and Soil Without Land takes a similar approach, documenting Jai Sang Lod’s conscription into the Shan State army. The Shan are persecuted in Myanmar, and are denied refugee status in neighboring Thailand.
The documentary is a precursor to Nontawat’s feature film Doi Boy (ดอยบอย), whose protagonist, Sorn, is also a young man from Shan State conscripted into the military. After deserting, Sorn crosses the border into Thailand, jumping from the frying pan into the fire. He is forced to totally transform his identity (from monk to soldier to sex worker) and, like other undocumented migrants in Thailand and elsewhere, he is exploited by almost everyone he meets.
The documentary is a precursor to Nontawat’s feature film Doi Boy (ดอยบอย), whose protagonist, Sorn, is also a young man from Shan State conscripted into the military. After deserting, Sorn crosses the border into Thailand, jumping from the frying pan into the fire. He is forced to totally transform his identity (from monk to soldier to sex worker) and, like other undocumented migrants in Thailand and elsewhere, he is exploited by almost everyone he meets.
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