Showing 1 - 10 of 13
Time for Asean films to shine
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 08/12/2021
» The pandemic notwithstanding, it has been a stimulating year for Southeast Asian cinema. Reflective, heartfelt and oddball new titles from Indonesia, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand have won major prizes or become critical favourites at international film festivals throughout 2021. Now, many of these films are coming to the big screen in Thailand as the Bangkok Asean Film Festival 2021 (BAFF) is set to open tonight.
Taiwan's real to reel
Life, Published on 29/08/2018
» A protest doc, a lesbian Taoist mother, a portrait of a dissident group, a woman who will become a teacher when she's dead -- these are some of the titles to be shown at the "Taiwan Documentary Film Festival In Bangkok 2018", which begins tomorrow at SF CentralWorld.
A new vision on Siam's enduring symbol
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 26/04/2017
» The elephant and the man, walking down the road to redemption and encountering the wounded and the marginalised, the madmen and the prostitutes. In the film Pop Aye, which will kick off Bangkok Asean Film Festival 2017 this evening (see sidebar), the fine-tusked beast accompanies the lost soul as the duo find their way home from Bangkok to the Northeast.
Giving women a voice
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 03/03/2017
» A robust line-up of films is coming to us in HeForShe Arts Week Bangkok Film Festival. Organised by UN Women, next week's festival has selected films with messages on gender equality -- or inequality -- and unfair treatment of women in different cultures (not just in the "Third World" countries, to be sure). It sounds heavy, but the good thing is that the titles picked for the event this year are entertaining and heartfelt on top of being socially relevant.
Enjoy a Japanese treat this weekend
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 10/02/2017
» This week Japanese Film Festival 2017 continues at SF CentralWorld, and we also have a regular release (though with limited showtime) of acclaimed Japanese drama Harmonium. Let's take a look at what's on offer.
Colourful journey into Thailand's soul
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 20/01/2017
» The train clangs ahead, moving people and dreams, as it has done since 1893. In Railway Sleepers, a minutely observed film shot entirely on-board a Thai train, we see kids on school trips, young men travelling north and south, hawkers selling food and horoscope books, families and lovers, vacationers who turn the sleeping car into a party venue. They're passengers, and they're also humans. They are, as director Sompot Chidgasornpongse says, a collection of faces that make up a portrait of Thailand.
Santi-Vina finally comes home
Life, Published on 22/07/2016
» On July 15, the Thai Film Archive hosted the screening of Santi-Vina, the 1954 classic Thai film whose negative prints were thought to be lost before they were discovered at the British Film Institute in London two years ago. After a lengthy restoration process by a lab in Italy and a world premiere in Cannes, Santi-Vina returned home after six decades. The screening at Scala last Friday is sure to become a chapter in Thai cinema history: it was an emotional homecoming and the 800-seat theatre was full to the tilt, something that hadn't happened at the venue for a long time.
Regional favourites, new and old
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 15/04/2016
» The 2nd Bangkok Asean Film Festival begins on Thursday at SF World Cinema, and will travel to Khon Kaen, Surat Thani and Chiang Mai later.
Doc lovers rejoice!
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 18/03/2016
» It is high time for audiences who appreciate the rough-edged reality of documentary films. Of the five nominees of the Oscar for best documentary feature, three had a regular release in Bangkok cinemas (Amy, Cartel Land, The Look of Silence), something unthinkable a few years ago when no distributor wanted to risk showing non-fiction films in cinemas. Now there is almost always at least one documentary film at SF CentralWorld, with the initiation of the independent outfit Documentary Club (in the programme now is The Hunting Ground, about rape crimes in American universities).
Ones to watch
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 01/01/2016
» Clear your schedule for Bangkok's main film event: The World Film Festival of Bangkok, which returns next week for its 13th edition, with a buffet of over 50 movies showing at SF CentralWorld from Nov 13-22.