Three short documentaries by Vichart Somkaew — Antipsychotics, Sleeping Together (ราตรีวิไล), and his latest film The Southern Echo — will be shown in Hat Yai tomorrow. The event, Traces of Silence: Body, Being, and the Bounded Land, will be held at Lorem Ipsum.
The Southern Echo
The Southern Echo focuses on a campaign against a proposed land bridge linking Chumphon and Ranong, a megaproject involving the construction of a new motorway, rail line, and two ports. The land bridge is part of the Southern Economic Corridor, and the head of the SEC Watch group opposing the scheme describes its potential effects on the area: “The environmental impact will be massive in scale and scope.”
Vichart uses drone shots and underwater photography to highlight the natural beauty of the region, which is under threat from the development project. Similarly, The Poem of the River (บทกวีแห่งสายน้ำ) highlighted the consequences of dredging the Lai Phan canal in Phatthalung. The Southern Echo also recalls the classic film Tongpan (ทองปาน), a dramatisation of a seminar debating the construction of the Pa Mong dam on the Mekong river.
Vichart uses drone shots and underwater photography to highlight the natural beauty of the region, which is under threat from the development project. Similarly, The Poem of the River (บทกวีแห่งสายน้ำ) highlighted the consequences of dredging the Lai Phan canal in Phatthalung. The Southern Echo also recalls the classic film Tongpan (ทองปาน), a dramatisation of a seminar debating the construction of the Pa Mong dam on the Mekong river.
Sleeping Together
Sleeping Together begins in the same way as Sompot Chidgasornpongse’s Railway Sleepers (หมอนรถไฟ), as an observational study of train passengers, though it soon develops into a moving portrait of marginalised people exploited or neglected by society and the state. It was voted best documentary at the Chiang Mai Film Festival 2026 (เทศกาลหนังแห่งเมืองเชียงใหม่ 2569), and it was also shown at The 1st Lung Film Festival (ลุงฟิล์มเฟสติวัลครั้งที่ 1) last month.
Antipsychotics
In Antipsychotics, Vichart turns the camera on himself and reveals that he suffers from depression. In a voiceover, he describes his symptoms, which include hallucinations and feelings of paranoia. On screen, we see profiles of various antidepressant and antipsychotic drugs, and their possible side effects, accompanied by stock footage.
The director also recounts the traumatic experience that he feels led to his condition: the humiliating hazing rituals and violent punishments he endured during his conscription. “I drew a red card and was drafted into the military service”, he says, before describing the physical and mental harm he was subjected to.
In Thailand, twenty-one-year-old men must take part in a draft lottery. Vichart picked a red ticket, which means two years of compulsory military service.
There have been occasional news reports of cadets being injured — and worse — during military training sessions, though there is less coverage of the potential psychological toll that Vichart describes. At the end of his powerful and ultimately optimistic film, he argues that conscription should be replaced by voluntary service.
Like Sleeping Together, Antipsychotics was previously screened at The 1st Lung Film Festival. It has also been shown at the Thailand International LGBTQ+ Film and TV Festival 2026, the Chard Festival (ฉาด เฟสติวัล), Open Screen, and in last year’s Short Film Marathon (หนังสั้นมาราธอน).
The director also recounts the traumatic experience that he feels led to his condition: the humiliating hazing rituals and violent punishments he endured during his conscription. “I drew a red card and was drafted into the military service”, he says, before describing the physical and mental harm he was subjected to.
In Thailand, twenty-one-year-old men must take part in a draft lottery. Vichart picked a red ticket, which means two years of compulsory military service.
There have been occasional news reports of cadets being injured — and worse — during military training sessions, though there is less coverage of the potential psychological toll that Vichart describes. At the end of his powerful and ultimately optimistic film, he argues that conscription should be replaced by voluntary service.
Like Sleeping Together, Antipsychotics was previously screened at The 1st Lung Film Festival. It has also been shown at the Thailand International LGBTQ+ Film and TV Festival 2026, the Chard Festival (ฉาด เฟสติวัล), Open Screen, and in last year’s Short Film Marathon (หนังสั้นมาราธอน).