Hopping around our region in search of good movies, the Dutch film expert Gertjan Zuilhof took time off to talk to us about the cultural importance of Southeast Asian horror films, the saturation of the boom concept known as film festivals, and about the day when citizens of the world will be able to watch a new movie like they now watch a solar eclipse: simultaneously across the planet, in awe, on giant public screens atop buildings fed by signals beamed from somewhere far, perhaps outside Earth.
Speculation and rumours have run wild over the past 12 months, but it has recently been confirmed that the Bangkok International Film Festival (BKK IFF) will take place this year from Sept 23-30, with several changes in the organisation, programming, and focus.
WORLDBeat
World Beat made its annual pilgrimage to the Rainforest World Music Festival in Sarawak, Malaysia, this past weekend, for a little musical rumble in the jungle. In the past few years, the event has miraculously escaped rain; not so this year, as Borneo's heavens opened on two of the evenings, rendering much of the site a mud-pit. It didn't stop anyone from having a good time though and it made rain dancers of us all.
Classical
Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story has been called the crown jewel of Broadway musicals. It was an immediate and massive hit on the stage and was quickly made into an equally successful movie. But its predecessor, Candide, got a chilly reception when it was premiered in 1956, and closed quickly.
DVD ADDICT
One of the documentaries included in this edition of Herk Harvey's cult classic, Carnival of Souls is called "The Movie That Wouldn't Die". The film was made in 1962 for about US$30,000 as a personal project by Harvey and some friends, whose daytime job was industrial filmmaking. Their hope was to create a moody supernatural chiller that "looked like Bergman and felt like Cocteau".
The crusade he's fought has been a metaphorical one, but it's ennobling that Thai filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul has finally become, voila, a knight. Last Thursday, the French ambassador to Thailand, Laurent Bili, on behalf of the French government, decorated Apichatpong with the prestigious Chevalier des Arts et Lettres medal, in a formal, albeit intimate, ceremony at the Alliance Francaise auditorium on Sathon Tai Road.
SPA Trek
Despite its modernisation, the city of Chiang Mai remains a charming place to recharge batteries as long as you find the right spot. Despite being located on a strip famous for riverside restaurants, RarinJinda Wellness Spa Resort serves as a serene sanctuary to get away from it all.
SKINCARE
If your face is like an oil well, you'll probably be suffering from greasy skin all day long. And this is not just a problem among young teens: even 40-somethings have to tackle the T-zone slick.
They're undoubtedly three of the country's top male artists, each with their own exceptional singing style. True Music made no mistake in teaming them up for an exclusive album, Together, that made Palitchoke "Peck" Ayanabutr, Pongsak "Aof" Rattanapong and Saranyu "Ice" Winaipanich one of this year's biggest music sensations with smash hits including Kae Khon Tow Phid (Just Wrong Number) and Na Rak Na Love (So Lovely That I Want To Love You).
NCC Exhibition Organiser (NEO) is hosting the "Amazing Thailand Grand Sale Fair 2008" featuring up to 70% discounts on a wide range of commodities, comprehensive tourism goods and services at Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre. The fair runs from July 24-27, daily from 10am-8pm.
Multi-platinum artist Akon is having a live concert at the Centara Convention Hall at CentralWorld on July 25. The door opens at 7pm.
BOOKReviews
Books about those in the Foreign Service are of several kinds: if they played an important role, by biographers who obtained their information by research and interviews; by the officers themselves after they retired, careful not to breach national security; by their wives focusing on the difficulties of making a home abroad, with observations about the nature of the people they live amongst on each posting.
BOOKReviews
While the 9/11 outrage caught the Intelligence agencies flatfooted - they knew but didn't know - and sent a tsunami-shock wave through the US, today every American anticipates that the terrorists are preparing at least one more attack, even more devastating.
DINING ACCESSORIES
Have you ever felt that a meal at a luxurious restaurant might look inviting even if it doesn't actually taste that good? Have you ever noticed that your appetite is likely to rise higher than normal at a party, especially if it is decorated with a beautiful table setting?
WHYWine
Are you aware that practically all wines from New Zealand use screw caps? Or that 60 percent of Australian wines have abandoned the traditional cork? If the trend continues, will old-fashioned corks soon be visible only in museums and wine amateur's collections? Will your grandchildren come home one day and say: "Look grandfather, look what I found, a funny bottle with a cork. Let's not open it, let's keep it as a souvenir!"
EATINGOut
At Ban Ruea Sripol, blood cockles are as big as a woman's fist, mussels are larger than a mobile phone, crab claws are as huge as an adult's palm. And all come with price tags that could make a faint-hearted customer fall from her seat.
STREET Treats
When the economy is souring, the value of the baht is plunging but your salary slip still shows the same amount of income, nothing seems to be more perfect for the Street Treat column than something that's really inexpensive but able to fill your stomach while truly delighting your finicky taste buds.
When it comes to S.B.L., there are only two types of people - those who are long-time regulars, and those who don't know the restaurant. I was one of the latter until I married into a Thai-Chinese family 13 years ago.
CHILLI PEPPER
Some months back the media were full of news about an Assamese chilli pepper called the bhut jolokia, or ghost chilli, that was said to be so hot that our own phrik khee nuu suan and phrik kalieng were mere pussycats by comparison. Lab tests came up with a Scoville heat rating of over a million as compared with 100,000 or so for our supposed horsekillers.
THIS IS Life
His sun-kissed skin reveals that he's an outdoor guy, one who loves diving to explore the beauty of the underwater world and kite-surfing to soar above the sea. Ariya Banomyong keenly took up these sensational sports when he returned to Thailand some seven years ago, after living in several European countries for 27 years.
Leading British fashion house, Paul Smith, introduces its autumn/winter 2008 collections for both men and women. The collection for men is a very English with a rich selection of checks. Layering is key to the styling with contrasting detailing. Alternate check designs are introduced in an outfit teaming a grey Prince of Wales jacket worn over a brown Prince of Wales waistcoat and fine dogtooth shirt. A skinny pair of jeans completes the outfit for a modern look.
KATE SPADE AUTUMN 2008 COLLECTION
Kate Spade, the New York-based brand, introduces its autumn 2008 collection of handbags. The savvy film heroines of the 1960s and 1970s set against the backdrop of the Big Apple inspired the collection's tonal richness, sophistication and drama in equal measure.
DIOR JOAILLERIE 2008
Dior Haute Joaillerie introduces "Diorella", the 1/2 latest high end jewellery collection for 2008, created under the artistic direction of Victoire de Castellane.
