Isan Odyssey

Thunska Pansittivorakul’s new documentary Isan Odyssey (อีสานอำพราง) had its premiere yesterday, as the opening film of the What the Doc! (เทศกาลภาพยนตร์ สารคดีนานาชาติ แห่งประเทศไทย) film festival. Thunska took part in a Q&A after the screening, at House Samyan in Bangkok.

One of Thunska’s frequent collaborators, Phassarawin Kulsomboon, made Khon Boys (เด็กโขน), a documentary about a troupe of young khon dancers, and Isan Odyssey begins in a similar vein, following a troupe of young mor lam performers. Just as Khon Boys covers the historical restrictions imposed on khon performances, Isan Odyssey links the past suppression of mor lam to the political history of Thailand.

Isan Odyssey highlights the origins of mor lam as a form of political expression in the Isan region. Modern mor lam, in contrast, is primarily a commercial entertainment: “Gone are the days of ideology and fighting against state injustice.”

The veteran leader of the mor lam troupe recalls his youth in the 1960s, when he heard shots fired from helicopters, the sound of “Thai soldiers shooting communists”. This provides a segue to the film’s central theme: the state’s anti-Communist campaign in various Isan provinces during the Cold War.

A voiceover describes how suspected Communists were “brutally murdered” during Sarit Thanarat’s regime, and how this “ruthless suppression” continued during the Thanom Kittikachorn era. An elderly resident of the village of Nabua describes the situation at that time as “suffocatingly brutal.”

Similarly, Apichatpong Weerasethakul has made several films in and around Nabua, whose inhabitants were among the first victims of the anti-Communist purge. In Apichatpong’s short film A Letter to Uncle Boonmee (จดหมายถงลงบญม), a narrator recalls the area’s past: “Soldiers once occupied this place. They killed and tortured the villagers and forced them to flee to the jungle.”

Isan Odyssey touches on three specific historical incidents, though only briefly. It includes 16mm newsreel footage from 14th October 1973, and a few photographs from 6th October 1976. A young photographer describes the military crackdown in May 2010, and a caption informs us that this resulted in 108 casualties. This grim statistic was a bone of contention in Nontawat Numbenchapol’s documentary Boundary (ฟ้าต่ำแผ่นดินสูง), which was banned in part because it claimed that around 100 people had died.

One of Thunska’s films, This Area Is Under Quarantine (บริเวณนี้อยู่ภายใต้การกักกัน), was also banned. As a result, he told me in an interview for Thai Cinema Uncensored: “I decided not to show any of my films in Thailand.” Working with German producer Jürgen Brüning, he made nine films — The Terrorists (ผู้ก่อการร้าย), Supernatural (เหนือธรรมชาติ), sPACEtIME (กาล-อวกาศ), Reincarnate (จุติ), Homogeneous, Empty Time (สุญกาล), Santikhiri Sonata (สันติคีรี โซนาตา), Avalon (แดนศักดิ์สิทธิ์), Danse Macabre (มรณสติ), and Damnatio Memoriae (ไม่พึงปรารถนา) — all of which featured sexually explicit and politically sensitive content, and none of which had theatrical releases in Thailand.

Isan Odyssey is an exception: it was produced by Documentary Club in Thailand, rather than by Brüning in Germany, and it will go on Thai general release in October. As in Thunska’s other work, Isan Odyssey directly criticises the Thai state, though it avoids the graphic imagery of his earlier films, hence its ‘15’ rating from the Thai film censorship board.

Chard Festival

A three-day arts festival will take place in Phatthalung between 22nd and 24th August. The Chard Festival (ฉาด เฟสติวัล) features a programme of films by local directors, including two short films by Vichart Somkaew: The Poem of the River (บทกวีแห่งสายน้ำ) and (in its premiere screening) Antipsychotics. There will also be a screening of Vichart’s recent documentary When My Father Was a Communist (เมื่อพ่อผมเป็นคอมมิวนิสต์). One of the best Thai short films of recent years — Chatchawan Thongchan’s From Forest to City (อรัญนคร) — will also be shown, as will Nontawat Machai and Jakkraphan Sriwichai’s short film The Circle’s Circumference (เส้นรอบวง). Screenings will take place on 24th August at the Boone coffee shop.

At the start of Antipsychotics, Vichart 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.

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.

The Poem of the River opens with a caption describing “a Royal Development Project, costing 100 million baht” to dredge the water from the Lai Phan canal in Phatthalung. The film juxtaposes tranquil images of the canal and its verdant, fertile banks — including some beautiful drone photography — with footage of the dredging process.

The effect is similar to Koraphat Cheeradit’s short drama Yesterday Is Another Day, in which scenes set in a woodland are interrupted by shots of a JCB digging up the area. The Poem of the River has also been shown at the Chiang Mai Film Festival 2025 (เทศกาลหนังแห่งเมืองเชียงใหม่ 2568), and at the Isan Creative Festival 2025 (เทศกาลอีสานสร้างสรรค์).

For When My Father Was a Communist, Vichart interviewed his father, Sawang, and other former members of the Communist Party of Thailand. The film is a valuable social history, as the veterans explain their decisions to join the CPT, 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 screened last month in Korat, Songkla, and Hat Yai. It was shown in Phimai, Phattalung, and Bangkok earlier this month. It had four screenings on 10th August: in Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Sakon Nakhon, and Nakhon Phanom.

From Forest to City is a black-and-white drama in three parts, narrated by a woman who survived the Thammasat massacre and joined the Communist insurgency. In the first part, smoke billowing from an oil drum signifies the hundreds of suspected Communists who were burnt alive in oil barrels in the 1970s.

In part two, comparing the 6th October 1976 massacre at Thammasat University to the present day, the narrator regrets that Thailand hasn’t changed: society remains irreconcilably divided, between student protesters and the conservative establishment. Although the film is black-and-white, there are two flashes of colour: a red folding chair, and a yellow t-shirt. Thanks to Neal Ulevich’s famous photograph of a man beating a corpse with a folding chair, this single item of furniture has come to symbolise the entire Thammasat massacre. The yellow t-shirt in an otherwise black-and-white shot recalls Chai Chaiyachit and Chisanucha Kongwailap’s short film Re-presentation (ผีมะขาม ไพร่ฟ้า ประชาธิปไตย ในคืนที่ลมพัดหวน), in which the yellow t-shirts worn by monarchists are the only objects shown in colour.

In part three, From Forest to City switches gear with a documentary montage of various dramatic episodes from modern Thai history: the Thammasat massacre, armoured personnel carriers demolishing red-shirt protest camps, riot police firing water cannon at students in Siam Square, and Arnon Nampa’s Harry Potter-themed protest. In an echo of Prap Boonpan’s sadly prophetic short film The Bangkok Bourgeois Party (ความลักลั่นของงานรื่นเริง), a yellow-shirt mob is seen attacking a pro-reform protester. The montage of news footage is set incongruously to รักกันไว้เถิด (‘let’s love each other’), a Cold War propaganda song whose lyrics call for national unity.

From Forest to City was also shown in Phatthalung last year. It was screened at Bangkok University in 2023, and in that year’s online Short Film Marathon (หนังสั้นมาราธอน).

Nontawat Machai and Jakkraphan Sriwichai’s The Circle’s Circumference, a video of a performance by Nontawat, was made in memory of two murdered human-rights activists, Porlajee Rakchongcharoen and Chaiyaphum Pasae. Porlajee’s body was found in an oil drum at the bottom of a reservoir in 2019, five years after he went missing, and Chaiyaphum was shot at a military checkpoint in 2017. Thunska Pansittivorakul’s film Santikhiri Sonata (สันติคีรี โซนาตา) also refers to Chaiyaphum’s death. The Circle’s Circumference was previously shown at The 26th Thai Short Film and Video Festival (เทศกาลภาพยนตร์สั้น ครั้งที่ 26).

100 Most Influential Movies Beyond Times

To mark its 100th issue, Indonesian film magazine Cinemags compiled a list titled 100 Most Influential Movies Beyond Times [sic] in November 2007. The list is heavily weighted towards American titles, with films from other countries relegated to ‘outside Hollywood’ sidebars. (In the UK, Total Film magazine published a similar list, The 67 Most Influential Films Ever Made, in 2009.)

The 100 most influential movies, according to Cinemags:

100. Harry Potter 1–8
99. Reservoir Dogs
98. Before Sunset / Before Sunrise
97. Born on the 4th of July
96. JFK
95. The Aviator
94. The Sixth Sense
93. Farenheit 9/11
92. United 93
91. The Graduate
90. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
89. Requiem for a Dream
88. Almost Famous
87. Million Dollar Baby
86. Braveheart
85. Kramer vs. Kramer
84. Chinatown
83. A Beautiful Mind
82. Amadeus
81. Good Will Hunting
80. Adaptation
79. Rain Man
78. Midnight Cowboy
77. Mulholland Drive
76. Ordinary People
75. 21 Grams
74. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
73. Dog Day Afternoon
72. The Lion King
71. Lost in Translation
70. Rear Window
69. Breakfast at Tiffany’s
68. Crash
67. Pretty Woman
66. The Thin Red Line
65. Mystic River
64. The Green Mile
63. Once Upon a Time in America
62. The Wizard of Oz
61. Full Metal Jacket
60. Finding Nemo
59. Gladiator
58. American History X
57. Kill Bill 1
56. Little Miss Sunshine
55. Vertigo
54. Fight Club
53. The Pianist
52. Dead Poets Society
51. Traffic
50. The Shining
49. American Beauty
48. On the Waterfront
47. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
46. Scarface
45. Blade Runner
44. Titanic
43. Ben-Hur
42. The Silence of the Lambs
41. The Last Emperor
40. Forrest Gump
39. The Shawshank Redemption
38. Saving Private Ryan
37. The Deer Hunter
36. Rocky
35. A Clockwork Orange
34. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
33. Casablanca
32. Gandhi
31. Léon
30. King Kong
29. Platoon
28. The Sound of Music
27. Dances with Wolves
26. Gosford Park
25. GoodFellas
24. Apocalypse Now
23. Indiana Jones 1–3
22. Rebel Without a Cause
21. To Kill a Mockingbird
20. It’s A Wonderful Life
19. Invasion of the Body Snatchers
18. The Lord of the Rings 1–3
17. Tootsie
16. Jaws
15. Double Indemnity
14. Aliens
13. Taxi Driver
12. Pulp Fiction
11. ET
10. Schindler’s List
9. The Matrix 1–3
8. In the Heat of the Night
7. Psycho
6. 2001
5. Raging Bull
4. Lawrence of Arabia
3. Star Wars
2. Gone with the Wind
1. The Godfather 1–2

Given that it’s a list of the most influential films — rather than the greatest films — it has some surprising entries: Finding Nemo is included, for example, though Toy Story isn’t. But Toy Story, being the first computer-animated film, is surely more influential than the later Finding Nemo?

There are more than 100 films on the list, as Harry Potter, The Lord of The Rings, The Matrix, Indiana Jones, and The Godfather are counted alongside their sequels as single entries. Also, note that Scarface is the Brian de Palma remake, Ben-Hur is the William Wyler remake, Crash is the Paul Haggis film, and Titanic is the James Cameron version.

These are the films in the Cinemags supplemental ‘outside Hollywood’ list:

• Seven Samurai
  
• My Girl
  
• Bad Education
  
• Life Is Beautiful
  
• City of God
  
• The Brotherhood of War
  
• Oldboy
  
• Downfall
  
• Battle Royale
  
• Cinema Paradiso
  
• Infernal Affairs
  
• Carandiru
  
• Malena
  
• In the Mood for Love
  
• Spirited Away
  
• Run Lola Run
  
• Trainspotting
  
• Goodbye, Lenin!
  
• 2046
  
• Amélie
  
• Hero
  
• A Fish Called Wanda
  
• Y tu mamá también
  
• The Ring
  
• Das Boot
  

Note that My Girl is the 2003 Thai film (แฟนฉัน), not the 1991 Hollywood movie.

Antipsychotics

After interviewing his father in his recent documentary When My Father Was a Communist (เมื่อพ่อผมเป็นคอมมิวนิสต์), Vichart Somkaew has turned the camera on himself for his new documentary short Antipsychotics. At the start of the film, Vichart 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, all twenty-one-year-old men must take part in a draft lottery. Like the young soldier interviewed in Nontawat Numbenchapol’s documentary Boundary (ฟ้าต่ำแผ่นดินสูง), 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.

Thailand International LGBTQ+ Film and TV Festival 2025

The Thailand International LGBTQ+ Film and TV Festival 2025 will run from 2nd to 7th September at Icon Siam’s Cineconic cinema in Bangkok. One of TILFF’s highlights will be a complete retrospective of films by Danny Cheng Wan-Cheung, the Hong Kong director better known as Scud. All ten of his films will be shown, including the sexually explicit Love Actually... Sucks! (愛很爛), Utopians (同流合烏), Thirty Years of Adonis (三十儿立), and Apostles (十三門徒). Scud, who lives in Bangkok, will be in attendance at each screening.

Midnight Talk

The second annual Phimailongweek (พิมายฬองวีค) experimental arts festival is now under way at Phimai, in Korat province. The festival includes a series of late-night film screenings and panel discussions at various locations around the ancient town, and the highlight so far has been มรดกของการเซนเซอร์ ผลกระทบ จากความขัดแย้ง และเสรีภาพในการสร้างภาพยนตร์ (‘the legacy of censorship and the impact of conflict on freedom for filmmaking’), a Midnight Talk discussion at Victory Gate on 2nd August with directors Tanwarin Sukkhapisit and Ing K., both of whom have made films that were previously banned in Thailand.

Tanwarin’s Insects in the Backyard (อินเซคอินเดอะแบ็คยาร์ด) was banned in 2010, and Shakespeare Must Die (เชคสเปียร์ต้องตาย) was banned two years later, and both directors fought long and ultimately successful legal campaigns against the censors. I interviewed Tanwarin and Ing for Thai Cinema Uncensored, and the book discusses the censorship of their films in more detail.

The Midnight Talk discussion focused on the impact of the 2008 Film and Video Act and the two directors’ reactions to their films being censored. Tanwarin described how the film industry fought for the introduction of the new regulation (“ซึ่งเราก็ต่อสู้กันมาอย่างยาวนานนะกว่าจะได้ พ.ร.บ. ภาพยนตร์ปี”), and said that the decision to ban her film had made her cry (“ซึ่งตอนนั้นรีแอคก็คือก็เสียใจก็ร้องไห้นะฮะ”). In contrast, Ing said that when an Administrative Court judge dismissed her film and rejected her appeal, she was absolutely enraged (“อาจจะใกล้เป็นผู้ก่อการร้ายมากที่สุดในชีวิตนะ”).

Interestingly, Tanwarin explained that she had specifically conceived Insects in the Backyard to be the first film to be rated ‘20’, the highest classification in the rating system. Her intention was to take advantage of the adult rating by making an explicit film, though she hadn’t expected it to be banned outright (“พอเราเป็นคนทําเนี่ยเราก็วางแผนชัดเจนนะว่าหนังเราจะต้องได้เป็นหนังไทยเรื่องแรกที่ได้เรตติ้ง ‘20’... แต่เราก็ไม่นึกว่ามันจะเลยเถิดจนถึง: อืม ห้ามฉายโดนแบนนะครับ”).

Tanwarin also recalled how, when the ban was announced, she was criticised online for making what many considered a ‘sissy’ film. The bitter irony, she said, was that people were opposed to the film because they didn’t understand transsexuality, which the film would have given them a better understanding of (“เป็นเพราะความไม่เข้าใจ ซึ่งมันก็ตรงกับสิ่งที่เราต้องการนําเสนออยู่ในหนัง”).

Ultimately, Insects in the Backyard was granted a reprieve by the Administrative Court in 2015. (It went on general release in 2017.) The court ruled that a three-second hardcore clip must be cut out, a result that Tanwarin described as both a defeat and a victory (“เราแพ้แต่เราชนะ”) — technically, she lost her appeal for an uncut release, though she saw it as winning the right to show her film, which was no longer branded as immoral.

Ing’s battle with the censors took even longer than Tanwarin’s: the ban on Shakespeare Must Die was finally lifted by the Supreme Court last year, and its theatrical release came a few months later. (It has since been screened at Burapha University and Chiang Mai University.) She explained that freedom of expression is essential for artists, and should not be suppressed (“ไม่ควรมีใครมาปิดกั้นความคิดเราไม่ให้เราสามารถพูดในสิ่งที่เราอยากพูดได้”).

Ing also argued that the defamation law is too strict, as the descendants of military leaders have used it to block films about Thailand’s political history. She cited two aborted projects — Euthana Mukdasanit’s biopic of Phibun Songkhram (2482); and จอมพล (‘marshal’), Banjong Kosallawat’s drama about a fictional character resembling Sarit Thanarat — both of which were abandoned following legal threats.

The Midnight Talk event was the latest of numerous panel discussions and seminars on the subject of Thai film censorship. จาก YouTube ถึงแสงศตวรรษ การเซ็นเซอร์สื่อในยุครัฐบาล คมช (‘media censorship from YouTube to Syndromes and a Century’) and From Censorship to Rating System (จากเซ็นเซอร์สู่เรตติ้ง) were both held in 2007. Ing and Tanwarin took part in Art, Politics, and Censorship in 2012. These were followed by Freedom on Film (สิทธิหนังไทย) in 2013, อย่าจองเวรจองกรรม ซึ่งกันและกันเลย (‘let’s not hold grudges against each other’) in 2015, Freedom Thai Film (กู้อิสรภาพหนังไทย) in 2018, and Tearing Down the Wall (ทลายกำแพง) in 2023.

Shakespeare Must Die was shown after the Midnight Talk discussion. Then, in the early hours of 3rd August, it was followed by two political documentaries: Nontawat Numbenchapol’s Boundary (ฟ้าต่ำแผ่นดินสูง) and Uruphong Raksasad’s Paradox Democracy, part of the festival’s Phimailongdoo (พิมายฬองดูววว) programme of overnight screenings.

Shakespeare Must Die

Shakespeare Must Die is a Thai adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, with Pisarn Pattanapeeradej in the lead role. The play is presented in two parallel versions: a production in period costume, and a contemporary political interpretation. The period version is faithful to Shakespeare’s original, though it also breaks the fourth wall, with cutaways to the audience and an interval outside the theatre (featuring a cameo by the director).

In the contemporary sequences, Macbeth is reimagined as Mekhdeth, a prime minister facing a crisis. Street protesters shout “ok pbai!” (‘get out!’), and the protests are infiltrated by assassins listed in the credits as ‘men in black’. Ing has downplayed any direct link to Thai politics, though “Thaksin ok pbai!” was the People’s Alliance for Democracy’s rallying cry against Thaksin Shinawatra, and ‘men in black’ were blamed for instigating violence in 2010. Another satirical line in the script — “Dear Leader brings happy-ocracy!” — predicts Prayut Chan-o-cha’s propaganda song Returning Happiness to the Thai Kingdom (คืนความสุขให้ประเทศไทย).

The parallels between Mekhdeth and Thaksin highlight the politically-motivated nature of the ban imposed on the film. Ironically, the project was initially funded by the Ministry of Culture, during Abhisit Vejjajiva’s premiership: it received a grant from the ไทยเข้มแข็ง (‘strong Thailand’) stimulus package. The Abhisit government was only too happy to greenlight a script criticising Thaksin, though by the time the film was finished, Thaksin’s sister Yingluck was in power, and her administration was somewhat less disposed to this anti-Thaksin satire, hence the ban.

Although the film was made more than a decade ago, its message is arguably more timely than ever, as Thaksin’s influence over Thai politics continues. He returned to Thailand in 2023, and his Pheu Thai Party is now leading a coalition with the political wing of the military junta.

The film’s climax, a recreation of the 6th October 1976 massacre, is its most controversial sequence. A photograph by Neal Ulevich, taken during the massacre, shows a vigilante preparing to hit a corpse with a chair, and Shakespeare Must Die restages the incident. A hanging body (symbolising Shakespeare himself) is repeatedly hit with a chair, though rather than dwelling on the violence, Ing cuts to reaction shots of the crowd, which (as in 1976) resembles a baying mob.

Ing didn’t mince her words in her Thai Cinema Uncensored interview, describing the censors as “a bunch of trembling morons with the power of life and death over our films.” Thai Cinema Uncensored also includes an insider’s account from a member of the appeals committee, who said he was obliged by his department head to vote against releasing the film: “I had to vote no, because it was an instruction from my director. But if I could have voted freely, I would have voted yes.”

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 his Thai Cinema Uncensored interview: “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.”

The festival screening is especially timely, as another border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia is currently taking place. At a time when the Cambodian government is inflaming tensions, and nationalist groups in Thailand are exploiting the political crisis, Boundary represents a plea for de-escalation on both sides, and a reminder of the dangers of history repeating itself.

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.

Boundary was previously shown at Lido Connect and Warehouse 30 in Bangkok in 2019. Its most recent screenings were at Chiang Mai University, the Thai Film Archive in Salaya, and Thammasat University in Bangkok. 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.

Paradox Democracy

Paradox Democracy documents the recent student protest movement, and features clips from rally speeches by Arnon Nampa and other protest leaders, intercut with extracts from The Revolutionist (คือผู้อภิวัฒน์), a play about Pridi Banomyong staged by the Crescent Moon theatre group in 2020. The film’s working title was Paradox October, and it includes footage shot at the 6th October 1976 commemorative exhibition at Thammasat University in 2020. It was previously shown at The 28th Thai Short Film and Video Festival (เทศกาลภาพยนตร์สั้น ครั้งที่ 28), and at Chiang Mai University.

What the Doc!

What the Doc! — The International Documentary Film Festival Thailand (เทศกาลภาพยนตร์ สารคดีนานาชาติ แห่งประเทศไทย) — will take place in Bangkok from 22nd to 31st August. Organised by Documentary Club, the festival includes screenings at House Samyan, Century the Movie Plaza at On Nut (just around the corner from Dateline Bangkok HQ), and Bangkok Art and Culture Centre.

The opening film, Thunska Pansittivorakul’s new documentary Isan Odyssey (อีสานอำพราง), will be shown at House on 22nd August. It has been classified ‘15’, marking the first time in almost twenty years that Thunska has submitted one of his films to the Thai ratings board.

One of the festival’s highlights is an Apichatpong Weerasethakul retrospective, a rare chance to see eight short films by Thailand’s leading director and video artist. 0116643225059, Thirdworld (เกาะกายสิทธิ์), Malee and the Boy (มาลีและเด็กชาย), and Luminous People (คนเรืองแสง) will be shown at House on 23rd August, and at Century on 31st August. A Letter to Uncle Boonmee (จดหมายถึงลุงบุญมี), Cactus River (โขงแล้งน้ำ), Vapour, and Ashes will be screened at Century on 23rd August, and at House on 24th August.

A programme of short films by Chulayarnnon Siriphol will be shown at BACC on 24th August, followed by a Q&A with Chulayarnnon, as part of WTD’s Doc Talk Day! event. The five films are: Vanishing Horizon of the Sea, Birth of Golden Snail (กำเนิดหอยทากทอง), Myth of Modernity, The Internationale (แองเตอร์นาซิอองนาล), and ANG48 (เอเอ็นจี48).

There have been three previous retrospectives of Apichatpong’s short films in Thailand: Apichatpong on Video Works in 2008, Indy Spirit Project in 2010, and Apichatpong Weekend in 2017. Thunska, Apichatpong, and Chulayarnnon were all interviewed in Thai Cinema Uncensored.

Phimailongweek 2Midnight Monsoon

The second annual Phimailongweek (พิมายฬองวีค) experimental arts festival will take place at Phimai, in Korat province, from 1st to 15th August. The theme of this year’s event is Midnight Monsoon (ภาคมรสุมฝัน), and it includes a programme of overnight film screenings at various locations around the ancient town, titled Phimailongdoo: Midnight Screening (พิมายฬองดูววว: ภาพยนตร์เที่ยงคืน).

Undoubtedly the highlight of the festival will be on 2nd August at Victory Gate: screenings of previously censored films, a provocative recent documentary, and a discussion about film censorship. This session will begin with three short films by Tanwarin Sukkhapisit, including I’m Fine (สบายดีค่ะ), for which she sat in a cage next to Democracy Monument in a commentary on political freedom.

Midnight Talk

Tanwarin will then take part in มรดกของการเซนเซอร์ ผลกระทบ จากความขัดแย้ง และเสรีภาพในการสร้างภาพยนตร์ (‘the legacy of censorship and the impact of conflict on freedom for filmmaking’), a Midnight Talk discussion with fellow director Ing K. Nontawat Numbenchapol was originally scheduled to appear, though he is unable to attend; Tanwarin, Ing, and Nontawat have all made films that were previously banned in Thailand, and I interviewed all three directors for Thai Cinema Uncensored.

Ing’s Shakespeare Must Die (เชคสเปียร์ต้องตาย) will be shown after the discussion. After midnight, in the early hours of 3rd August, it will be followed by two political documentaries: Nontawat’s Boundary (ฟ้าต่ำแผ่นดินสูง) and Uruphong Raksasad’s Paradox Democracy.

Shakespeare Must Die

Shakespeare Must Die was banned by the Ministry of Culture in 2012, and the ban was upheld by the Administrative Court in 2017. Ing’s battle with the censors, documented in her film Censor Must Die (เซ็นเซอร์ต้องตาย), went all the way to the Supreme Court, which finally lifted the ban last year. After its belated theatrical release, it has since been screened at Burapha University and Chiang Mai University.

Shakespeare Must Die is a Thai adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, with Pisarn Pattanapeeradej in the lead role. The play is presented in two parallel versions: a production in period costume, and a contemporary political interpretation. The period version is faithful to Shakespeare’s original, though it also breaks the fourth wall, with cutaways to the audience and an interval outside the theatre (featuring a cameo by the director).

In the contemporary sequences, Macbeth is reimagined as Mekhdeth, a prime minister facing a crisis. Street protesters shout “ok pbai!” (‘get out!’), and the protests are infiltrated by assassins listed in the credits as ‘men in black’. Ing has downplayed any direct link to Thai politics, though “Thaksin ok pbai!” was the People’s Alliance for Democracy’s rallying cry against Thaksin Shinawatra, and ‘men in black’ were blamed for instigating violence in 2010. Another satirical line in the script — “Dear Leader brings happy-ocracy!” — predicts Prayut Chan-o-cha’s propaganda song Returning Happiness to the Thai Kingdom (คืนความสุขให้ประเทศไทย).

The parallels between Mekhdeth and Thaksin highlight the politically-motivated nature of the ban imposed on the film. Ironically, the project was initially funded by the Ministry of Culture, during Abhisit Vejjajiva’s premiership: it received a grant from the ไทยเข้มแข็ง (‘strong Thailand’) stimulus package. The Abhisit government was only too happy to greenlight a script criticising Thaksin, though by the time the film was finished, Thaksin’s sister Yingluck was in power, and her administration was somewhat less disposed to this anti-Thaksin satire, hence the ban.

Although the film was made more than a decade ago, its message is arguably more timely than ever, as Thaksin’s influence over Thai politics continues. He returned to Thailand in 2023, and his Pheu Thai Party is now leading a coalition with the political wing of the military junta.

The film’s climax, a recreation of the 6th October 1976 massacre, is its most controversial sequence. A photograph by Neal Ulevich, taken during the massacre, shows a vigilante preparing to hit a corpse with a chair, and Shakespeare Must Die restages the incident. A hanging body (symbolising Shakespeare himself) is repeatedly hit with a chair, though rather than dwelling on the violence, Ing cuts to reaction shots of the crowd, which (as in 1976) resembles a baying mob.

Ing didn’t mince her words in her Thai Cinema Uncensored interview, describing the censors as “a bunch of trembling morons with the power of life and death over our films.” Thai Cinema Uncensored also includes an insider’s account from a member of the appeals committee, who said he was obliged by his department head to vote against releasing the film: “I had to vote no, because it was an instruction from my director. But if I could have voted freely, I would have voted yes.”

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 his Thai Cinema Uncensored interview: “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.”

The festival screening is especially timely, as another border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia is currently taking place. At a time when the Cambodian government is inflaming tensions, and nationalist groups in Thailand are exploiting the political crisis, Boundary represents a plea for de-escalation on both sides, and a reminder of the dangers of history repeating itself.

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.

Boundary was previously shown at Lido Connect and Warehouse 30 in Bangkok in 2019. Its most recent screenings were at Chiang Mai University, the Thai Film Archive in Salaya, and Thammasat University in Bangkok. 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.

Paradox Democracy

Paradox Democracy documents the recent student protest movement, and features clips from rally speeches by Arnon Nampa and other protest leaders, intercut with extracts from The Revolutionist (คือผู้อภิวัฒน์), a play about Pridi Banomyong staged by the Crescent Moon theatre group in 2020. The film’s working title was Paradox October, and it includes footage shot at the 6th October 1976 commemorative exhibition at Thammasat University in 2020. It was previously shown at The 28th Thai Short Film and Video Festival (เทศกาลภาพยนตร์สั้น ครั้งที่ 28), and at Chiang Mai University.

When My Father Was a Communist

Vichart Somkaew’s new documentary When My Father Was a Communist is another highlight of the festival, screening on 8th August at Phimai Wittaya School. Vichart interviewed his father, Sawang, and other former members of the Communist Party of Thailand, and the film is a valuable social history. The veterans explain their decisions to join the CPT, 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 also screened at Vongchavalitkul University in Korat on 23rd July, A.E.Y. Space in Songkla on 26th July, and Lorem Ipsum in Hat Yai on 27th July.

Coup d’état

On 1st August, a selection of short films by local filmmakers will be shown at Victory Gate. These will include Natthapol Kitwarasai’s Coup d’état, a dialogue-free, black-and-white film in which a soldier rummages through an old man’s meagre possessions. The man watches impassively, apparently oblivious to the trespassing soldier, and spends his time sleeping and swimming, which symbolise freedom for the director. Although the drama is allegorical, the film opens with photographs of the military leaders who instigated Thailand’s many coups. Coup d’état was previously shown in the online Short Film Marathon 26 (หนังสั้นมาราธอน 26).

The Body Craves Impact as Love Bursts

Wattanapume Laisuwanchai’s The Body Craves Impact as Love Bursts (ร่างกายอยากปะทะ เพราะรักมันปะทุ) will also be screened at Victory Gate, on 14th August. The video features images of a man and woman tantalisingly close and facing each other, yet separated. As the director explained in his artist’s statement, the installation was made in solidarity with the rapper Elevenfinger, who is serving a prison sentence for possession of ping-pong bombs used in anti-government protests: “I have visited him and witnessed the despair not only affecting him and his partner but also their families and relatives. This situation mirrors the plight of other political prisoners”.

The video ends dramatically with flashing images and footage of fireworks, filmed at Thalugaz protests in 2021. It was first shown as an installation at the Procession of Dystopia exhibition last year. It has also been screened at The 7th Bangkok Experimental Film Festival (เทศกาลหนังทดลองกรุงเทพฯ ครั้งที่ 7), Can’t Stop Won’t Stop, and Cinemine/d.

No Exorcism Film

Another recent short film, Komtouch Napattaloong’s No Exorcism Film, will be shown on 8th August at the Local.Gen cafe. In this experimenal film, a robotic voiceover narrates a dream that includes a short silent video clip of Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul in 2020 reading a manifesto calling for reform of the monarchy. No Exorcism Film was previously shown at BEFF7, The 28th Thai Short Film and Video Festival (เทศกาลภาพยนตร์สั้น ครั้งที่ 28), Wildtype 2024, and in the online Short Film Marathon 28 (หนังสั้นมาราธอน 28). It will also be screened next month in Udon Thani.

Poor Archive:A Prologue to Parallel 2

Komtouch Napattaloong’s No Exorcism Film will be screened at Noir Row Art Space in Udon Thani on 2nd August, on the opening day of the Poor Archive: A Prologue to Parallel 2 (อีกหนึ่งกิจกรรมพิเศษในวันเสาร์ที่ 2 สิงหาคมนี้) exhibition. In Komtouch’s experimental short film, a robotic voiceover narrates a dream in which a brutal warlord kills villagers with a sword because they disrespect him by not addressing him as their king.

No Exorcism Film was previously shown at BEFF7, The 28th Thai Short Film and Video Festival (เทศกาลภาพยนตร์สั้น ครั้งที่ 28), Wildtype 2024, and in the online Short Film Marathon 28 (หนังสั้นมาราธอน 28). It will also be screened next week at the Phimailongweek (พิมายฬองวีค) arts festival in Phimai.

Bangkok Joyride 5: Dancing with Death

The fifth episode of Ing K.’s epic documentary Bangkok Joyride (บางกอกจอยไรด์), subtitled Dancing with Death (รำวงพญายม), had its premiere at Cinema Oasis in Bangkok yesterday. The series, shot on Ing’s iPhone, is an exhaustive record of the street protests organised by the People’s Democratic Reform Committee against Yingluck Shinawatra’s government, and part five documents the period from 9th to 26th February 2014.

Dancing with Death begins in the same festive spirit as the earlier episodes, as Ing films a 9th February 2014 protest march in real time and picks out colourful characters among the demonstrators. The rally was a fundraiser for farmers affected by Yingluck’s disastrous rice subsidy scheme, which resulted in vast stockpiles of unsold rice and delays in compensating the farmers who supplied it.

The atmosphere of the protests became much darker on 18th February 2014, when riot police armed with tear gas and rubber bullets attempted to reclaim land occupied by the PDRC. At Phan Fah near Democracy Monument, protesters attacked the police with grenades and gunfire, and the police responded with live ammunition. Four protesters and a police officer were killed, and Ing covers the aftermath of this political violence, filming the funeral of a victim. The film also includes a horrific Facebook video clip showing a protester being fatally shot.

Parts one and two of the documentary, How We Became Superheroes (เมื่อเราเป็นยอดมนุษย์) and Shutdown Bangkok (ชัตดาวน์ประเทศไทย), covered the buildup to the PDRC’s campaign in 2013 and the initial demonstrations in Bangkok. Part three, Singing at Funerals (เพลงแห่ศพ), covered the intensification of the protests in January 2014, when the PDRC caused gridlock in downtown Bangkok. Part four, Becoming One (เป็นหนึ่งเดียว), covered the 2nd February 2014 election, which the PDRC sabotaged.

The PDRC campaign took place more than a decade ago, but — given the cyclical nature of Thai politics — there are parallels with current events. Another Shinawatra family member, Yingluck’s niece Paetongtarn, is now in office, and there was a demonstration against her at Victory Monument in Bangkok on 28th June. The PDRC’s protests paved the way for a coup in 2014, and a headline in a recent issue of The Economist magazine (12th July) asked: “Is Thailand heading for another coup?”

Thai Cinema Uncensored discusses other Thai films that comment on the PDRC (all of which, unlike Bangkok Joyride, are critical of the protesters). These include Neti Wichiansaen’s Democracy after Death (ประชาธิปไตยหลังความตาย), Sorayos Prapapan’s Auntie Maam Has Never Had a Passport (ดาวอินดี้), Watcharapol Saisongkroh’s This Film Has Been Invalid [sic], Joaquim Niamtubtim’s Shut Sound: Lao Duang Duen, and three films by Chulayarnnon Siriphol: 100 Times Reproduction of Democracy (การผลิตซ้ำประชาธิปไตยให้กลายเป็นของแท้), Myth of Modernity, and Here Comes the Democrat Party (ประชาธิปัตย์มาแล้ว).

Borderless Film Festival

The inaugural Borderless Film Festival (เทศกาลภาพยนตร์ไร้พรมแดน) runs from 31st July to 3rd August at the former central bus terminal (no. 1) in Khon Kaen. The festival will begin with The Classic on its opening day, a programme of historical documentaries — including Lumière!, Tongpan (ทองปาน), and a propaganda film about Sarit Thanarat — curated by Berng Nang Club.

Lumière!

Lumière! is a compilation of 114 meticulously restored short films by the Lumière brothers. Narrated by Thierry Frémaux, it’s similar to the earlier documentary The Lumière Brothers’ First Films, a compilation of eighty-five Lumière films narrated by Bertrand Tavernier. In both compilations, the short films are arranged thematically rather than chronologically.

Lumière! has previously been shown at Museum Siam, Doc Club and Pub, and Alliance Française. It was given an international theatrical release in 2017, though it has been available on DVD and blu-ray in France since 2015.

Tongpan

Tongpan is a realistic dramatisation of a seminar that took place in 1975, which was organised to debate the construction of the Pa Mong dam on the Mekong river. The eponymous central character is a farmer who lost his land due to a previous dam. (Ultimately, the Pa Mong project was abandoned, though this was a Pyrrhic victory for environmental campaigners, as dozens of hydroelectric dams are currently under construction.)

Tongpan was a product of the brief period of political freedom following the end of military rule in 1973, though by the time filming had been completed in 1977, another junta had seized power, and the film was banned. Its prologue captures the optimism of 1973 (“A military junta fled into exile”), though this is contrasted by an epilogue that describes the return of military rule (“shortly after the shooting of this film, a violent coup d’etat of a magnitude never before seen in Thailand brought an end to Thailand’s three-year experiment with democracy”).

Tongpan has previously been shown at Noir Row Art Space, Cinema Oasis, Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, and the Thai Film Archive. It was included alongside Lumière! in last year’s Fiction/Nonfiction season.

Sarit Thanarat

The Sarit newsreel — การปฏิบัติหน้าที่เพื่อประเทศชาติในตำแหน่งหัวหน้ารัฐบาลและผู้นำทางทหาร จนถึงล้มป่วยและอสัญกรรมของ ฯพณฯ จอมพลสฤษดิ์ ธนะรัชต์ (‘Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat performing duties for the country as the head of government and military leader until his illness and death’) — is a fascinating example of Cold War state propaganda. At the time of its original release, it would have provided a counter-narrative to the exposés of the dictator’s decadence and corruption that were rushed into print after his death.

The film depicts Sarit as a PM dedicated to his people, especially in Isan, where he is seen working to alleviate poverty. He is portrayed as a tireless leader, to the extent that he became ill through overwork, and the film ends with scenes of national mourning following his state funeral.

Happy New Year, Stranger

Chatchawan Thongchan directed one of the best Thai short films of the past few years, From Forest to City (อรัญนคร). His latest film is Happy New Year, Stranger (สวัสดีปีใหม่ คนไม่รู้จัก), a timely and powerful documentary about the plight of lèse-majesté prisoners and the campaign to quash their convictions.

The film opens with footage from 8th November 2020, when riot police fired tear gas to prevent demonstrators entering the Grand Palace to deliver an open letter addressed to the King. In a voiceover, Chatchawan explains that it was this protest movement that led to his political awakening: “This is where my political journey began... there were protests happening in 2020. That’s when I started to pay attention”.

This realisation of political consciousness is known in Thai as ta sawang, and several directors — Pen-ek Ratanaruang, Yuthlert Sippapak, Chulayarnnon Siriphol, Thunska Pansittivorakul, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, and Nontawat Numbenchapol — discussed their ta sawang moments in interviews for Thai Cinema Uncensored. But in the self-reflexive Happy New Year, Stranger Chatchawan does something unique: he uses the film to articulate his own personal questions about politics and the monarchy.

Most of the material in Happy New Year, Stranger was shot last year, at a vigil outside parliament calling for an amnesty for lèse-majesté charges, and at a New Year’s Eve street party outside Bangkok Remand Prison held in solidarity with lèse-majesté convicts detained there. At both events, live music was played, and in his director’s statement, Chatchawan describes these scenes as “a gift for political prisoners behind bars, allowing them to feel a sense of freedom.”

This coming together of activists and artists to support prisoners charged with lèse-majesté was also a key feature of Chatchawan’s similar short film To a Friend I Have Never Met (แด่เพื่อนที่ไม่รู้จัก), which was released on New Year’s Eve and was dedicated to political prisoners. There are also parallels with Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s short film Ashes, which — like Happy New Year, Stranger — ends with a firework display.

Finally, Happy New Year, Stranger is an especially topical film, though for an unfortunate reason: a bill proposing amnesty for lèse-majesté cases was rejected by parliament yesterday, as expected. A People’s Party bill calling for a case-by-case amnesty review was also rejected. Three amnesty bills were passed, though each of them explicitly states that those charged with lèse-majesté are not eligible for consideration.

Previous documentaries dealing directly with lèse-majesté cases include 112 News from Heaven, The Letter from Silence (จดหมายจากความเงียบ), Hungry for Freedom, We Need to Talk About อานนท์ (‘we need to talk about Arnon’), and The Cost of Freedom. (Thai Cinema Uncensored discusses the impact of the lèse-majesté law on Thai filmmakers, and their responses to it.)

ดูหนังกับสังวิทBoundary

Chiang Mai University’s Faculty of Social Sciences will show Nontawat Numbenchapol’s controversial documentary Boundary (ฟ้าต่ำแผ่นดินสูง) as part of their ดูหนังกับสังวิท (‘watch movies with Social Sciences’) season, organised by the SOP ANP Movie Club. The screening will take place on 25th July, and will include a Q&A with the director.

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.”

The screening at Chiang Mai is especially timely, as another border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia is currently taking place. At a time when the Cambodian government is inflaming tensions, and nationalist groups in Thailand are exploiting the political crisis, Boundary represents a plea for de-escalation on both sides, and a reminder of the dangers of history repeating itself.

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.

The film was previously shown at Lido Connect and Warehouse 30 in Bangkok in 2019. Its most recent screening was at the Thai Film Archive in Salaya earlier this year, and it will be shown at Thammasat University later this week. 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. (Thai Cinema Uncensored discusses the censorship history of Boundary in much more detail.)

When My Father Was a Communist

For his new documentary When My Father Was a Communist (เมื่อพ่อผมเป็นคอมมิวนิสต์), Vichart Somkaew interviewed his father, Sawang, and other former members of the Communist Party of Thailand. The film is a valuable social history, as the veterans explain their decisions to join the CPT, 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, including หยดน้ำตาแห่งลำสินธุ์ (‘tears of Lam Sin’) in 2014, หมู่บ้านถังแดง (‘red barrel village’) in 2019, and a 1997 episode of the iTV series ย้อนรอย (‘retracing steps’). 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.”

This link between past and present is also found in Chatchawan Thongchan’s short film From Forest to City (อรัญนคร) and Thanaphon Accawatanyu’s play Wilderness (รักดงดิบ), both of which compare the persecution of Communists after 1976 to the recent student protest movement. Like When My Father Was a Communist, Pasit Promnampol’s short film Pirab (พีเจ้น) and Sunisa Manning’s novel A Good True Thai also focus on the lives of Communist insurgents.

The protagonists of three films — Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (ลุงบุญมีระลึกชาติ), Taiki Sakpisit’s The Edge of Daybreak (พญาโศกพิโยคค่ำ), and Jakrawal Nilthamrong’s Anatomy of Time (เวลา) — are all former military officers who fought against the Communist insurgency. Taiki’s Seeing in the Dark, Thunska Pansittivorakul’s Santikhiri Sonata (สันติคีรี โซนาตา), and Apichatpong’s A Letter to Uncle Boonmee (จดหมายถงลงบญม) were filmed in Khao Kho, Santikhiri, and Nabua, respectively, all of which are associated with anti-Communist violence.

There have been references to the notorious red barrels in a variety of art forms. Teerawat Mulvilai interacted with red barrels in his solo dance performance Satapana. Anocha Suwichakornpong’s film By the Time It Gets Dark (ดาวคะนอง) explains that Communists were “set on fire in oil barrels.” Veerapong Soontornchattrawat’s novel อนุสรณ์สถาน (‘monument’) describes the need to memorialise the red barrel victims.

When My Father Was a Communist was first shown at the Us coffee shop in Phatthalung on 10th July. It will be screened at Vongchavalitkul University’s Faculty of Communication Arts in Korat on 23rd July, in a double bill with Cremation Ceremony (ประวัติย่อของบางสิ่งที่หายไป). It’s also being shown on 8th August at Phimai Wittaya School, as part of Phimailongweek (พิมายฬองวีค). It will be shown at four locations on 10th August — at the Chinese Martyrs Memorial Museum in Chiang Rai, Suan Anya in Chiang Mai, the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at Sakon Nakhon Rajabhat University, and Samakichumnum in Nakhon Phanom — as part of the nationwide ความฝันประชาชน (‘people’s dream’) arts event. Other screenings will take place at 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 (followed by a Q&A with the director), in Phatthalung again on 24th August — on the final day of the three-day Chard Festival (ฉาด เฟสติวัล) — at Walailak University in Nakhon Si Thammarat on 27th August, and at Bookhemian in Phuket on 19th September (followed by a Cinema Talk Q&A with the director).

House ClassicsRE:VERB —10 Classic Films That Linger

Bangkok’s House Samyan cinema has unveiled the next lineup for its ongoing House Classics season. The theme for the remainder of this year is RE:VERB — 10 Classic Films That Linger, with highlights including Sunset Boulevard (on 8th, 9th, 10th, and 12th August), Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (臥虎藏龍) in September, and One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest in October.

Chiang Mai Film Festival 2025Spirit of Local

The Chiang Mai Film Festival 2025 (เทศกาลหนังแห่งเมืองเชียงใหม่ 2568) will take place from 9th to 13th July at the Chiang Mai Cultural Centre. Exactly 100 short films have been selected, and highlights include Warat Bureephakdee’s Crazy Soft Power Love (screening on 10th July), Patipat Oakkharhaphunrat’s Black Hole (on 13th July), and Vichart Somkaew’s The Poem of the River (บทกวีแห่งสายน้ำ; on 11th July). This year’s theme is Spirit of Local (จิตวิญญาณแห่งท้องถิ่น).

Crazy Soft Power Love is a satire on the government’s soft power strategy, featuring a Songkran water fight that escalates into a brawl. In the surreal, black-and-white Black Hole, a young son discovers that his father, a corrupt military officer, has sold citizens’ digital data for personal gain. Both films include archive footage of the 6th October 1976 Thammasat University massacre.

The Poem of the River opens with a caption describing “a Royal Development Project, costing 100 million baht” to dredge the water from the Lai Phan canal in Phatthalung. The film juxtaposes tranquil images of the canal and its verdant, fertile banks — including some beautiful drone photography — with footage of the dredging process.

Crazy Soft Power Love and Black Hole were both previously shown at the fourth Amazing Stoner Movie Fest (มหัศจรรย์หนังผี ครั้งที่ 4). All three films were included in the Short Film Marathon 28 (หนังสั้นมาราธอน 28), and Black Hole was screened at The 27th Short Film and Video Festival (เทศกาลภาพยนตร์สั้น ครั้งที่ 27).

Crazy Soft Power Love has been screened at Can’t Stop Won’t Stop (ไปให้สุด หยุดไม่อยู่), White Love and White, and เทศกาลถนนศิลปะ ครั้งที่ 22 (‘the 22nd street art festival’). It was first shown at Wildtype 2024.

The Poem of the River has also been shown at the Isan Creative Festival 2025 (เทศกาลอีสานสร้างสรรค์). It had its Thai premiere as part of a mini retrospective of the director’s recent work, Vichart Movie Collection.