The Bangkok International Film Festival reveals its programme and its ambition to improve on past shortcomings
KONG RITHDEE
Serbis, a Filipino drama set in a porn theatre, is among the hot titles at the BKK IFF. |
Lorna's Silence won the award for best screenplay at Cannes. |
Now the films - at least most of them - will have Thai subtitles.
And gone, as promised, are the glitz and ambiguity. It's time, we're asked, to judge a film festival on its content.
In less than three weeks, the Bangkok International Film Festival (BKK IFF) will have the opportunity to redeem itself from past distresses. The torment of rumours, criticism, delusion and corruption will hopefully be dispelled as the festival, running from September 23-30 at SF World Cinema, sets sail on what promises to be a new horizon by the new managerial arrangement, chiefly with film professionals now in charge of the essentials.
The most crucial shift is the silent retreat of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, the host for the past five years, from centre stage to the role of the main sponsor. Stepping in to take the helm is the Federation of National Film Associations of Thailand and the Thai Film Directors' Association, which oversees film selection, guest invitations, and the overall content of the festival.
Redemption is often a painful process, but the new organiser begins by scratching where it itches. One of the initiatives in the BKK IFF 2008 is the inclusion of Thai subtitles, the lack of which had been a principal grumble against the BKK IFF during the TAT reign and the main jibe that the festival had no relevance to the general public.
"We're trying to include Thai subtitles for all foreign-language films because this is the practical way to make the festival accessible to everyone, and because we want to show that we really care about our Thai audience," said Youngyooth Thongkongtoon, president of the Thai Film Directors' Association and the BKK IFF's artistic director. He confirms that at least 70 percent of the 65 international titles will have Thai captions.
"Subtitles are also the best way to enlarge the audience base. This will ensure the sustainable life of the festival," he added.
The poster for this year's film festival was designed by Wisit Sasanatieng. |
Youngyooth, who directed the smash hit Iron Ladies as well as The Maid and Metrosexual, will also try to shape the festival's content so that it highlights the role of Bangkok as the potential nexus of regional film activities - the BKK IFF, one can imagine, as a version of an Asean summit. Running on less money than the past years - 25 million baht compared to 80 million baht in 2007 and 180 million baht in 2006 - the BKK IFF will inevitably show fewer films, though arguably more focussed in terms of its emphasis on Asia in general and new Southeast Asian cinema in particular.
Working under Youngyooth are programmers Pimpaka Towira and Mai Meksawan. Under short notice - the team didn't get the greenlight to start selecting films until early May - they have put together the programme that aspires to set Bangkok up as a new hub for Southeast Asian filmmakers. Currently the Singapore International Film Fest, a respected, long-running event, reigns as the regional rendez-vous for exciting newcomers. But given the appeal that comes with the city of Bangkok, and perhaps the commitment from the government, the strengthened BKK IFF stands a good chance to become, in a few years, a flagship cine-gathering that supplements the rise of new talents from Jakarta, Hanoi and Manila.
"The idea is that instead of just going wild about arthouse movies from Europe, we should also pay attention to the cinema of our region, especially because there are so many new directors coming out of Southeast Asia," said Pimpaka. "A film festival should be able to reflect the state of the film industry, as well as the social situation of other countries, especially our neighbouring countries."
Whether this note rings with the audience remains to be judged, but at least we're seeing an attempt to inject life and personality into the festival once known largely for its hollow glitz.
This year's BKK IFF will have two competition sections: International, and Southeast Asia. Interestingly, the International Competition will feature the first or second film of directors from around the world, and this focus on the so-called "young cinema" means the BKK IFF wants to establish its persona as a champion of promising, little-known filmmakers, instead of just sticking to the bandwagon of established masters.
More culturally intensive is the Southeast Asia Competition, which the programmers propose to be the ultimate showcase of the latest, richest and even boldest stock of indie movies around the South China Sea (for highlights see box).
"We believe that a film festival should be more than just 'screening movies'," says programmer Mai Meksawan. "It should serve as an insightful update of what's going on around us, and this is what we'll try to achieve with this section."
Besides the two competition categories, the festival has assembled a large documentary section from Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, as well as a selection of South Asian docs, notably from Indian and Pakistani filmmakers.
Yet a major difficulty that comes with the September slot of the BKK IFF - in 2006, the festival was in January, last year it was in July - is that it will take place just before the Pusan International Film Festival in early October. In the red-hot geo-politics of film festivals, Pusan is the Asian bigshot with far-reaching influences, and filmmakers usually prefer to have their films premiered at that well-attended, high-profile cinefest and in certain cases refuse to let their films come to Bangkok (Pusan is dead-serious about having "premieres", so films that are shown elsewhere before are not eligible.) And if the BKK IFF and Pusan "compete" for the same coveted film, the Korean fest usually has the edge because of its reputation.
There's talk about pushing the BKK IFF back to January, or moving it up to July. But nothing is definite at the moment, since all the energy is now directed to the upcoming festival.
"We know there have been complaints and criticisms in the past years," says Youngyooth, the artistic director. "So now it's time to make it different - to make it better. It's time to show that this movie festival matters and that it belongs to the Thai people."
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