In 1978, Sutin Wangpaibul lived next to a temple in Thon Buri. He was in Prathom 5, and each Friday he would rush home to complete his homework so he could go to the open-air movies at the temple grounds in the evening.
The next day, he would return to pick up scraps of the defect 35mm film that littered the ground. He also had a collection of used carbon rods that lit up the carbon arc projectors. All his friends collected them, he says, but he was more fascinated by how the lamp lit up in the projector and how the ray of light carried images from the film reels onto the big screen.
That same year, Jaegunyok, the film rental business run by Angkana Kaewprathumrassamee, better known as Je Kade, relocated from behind the Chalermkrung Theater to a shop house on Charoen Krung Soi 3. Her family founded the business in 1962 by renting out film prints for outdoor screenings. Almost all of the Thai films then were in 16mm format.
Angkana's business, which recently passed its 50 year anniversary, and Sutin's ongoing fascination for celluloid, are quaint relics of a time when film was still the only way to see a movie, when a beam of light went through a moving strip to become moving pictures. In the digital era of today, every film we see in the cinema is projected via a kind of hard disk (or Digital Cinema Package). Having the opportunity to witness film projection is becoming rarer and rarer — perhaps at an outdoor screening at a temple or shrine, or at film clubs, such as one run by Sutin.
"The first film my uncle bought for our shop was Jong Arng Payong [The Defiant Cobra]" Angkana recalls.
Today, her shop Jaegunyok is located in the same place on Charoen Krung. The walls are covered with movie posters ranging from Asoka, to Planet Terror, to the 1970 hit Mon Rak Luk Thung (Magical Love In The Countryside) — just some of the titles that the shop rents out. A Strong Mogul projector stands in a corner like a white elephant, a monument to past glories. Empty film reels are stacked up in the small backroom filled with shelves of more movie posters. A cat sits guarding its territory.
"If it was still like it was in the past, I wouldn't have the time to sit around and talk like this," Angkana says. "All the kids would be sitting around here rewinding rolls and rolls of film, repairing the films."
Now, in the digital era where movies can be screened from disk and watched on phone screens, it is just Angkana and her brother that are supplying the dwindling demand.
Angkana speaks of a time when open-air cinema was the main attraction in temple fairs and ordinations, weddings and funerals. Films were once screened as an offering for the gods for answering prayers, the same way traditional Chinese Opera was. Back in the 16mm heyday of 1960, over 100 Thai films were made each year, and there were over a thousand open-air cinema trucks that roamed around the country, according to statistics from Thai Film Archive.
"At the time, having a Strong Mogul Projector and a Toshiba T-54 would be like you were wearing an expensive high-end shirt," she adds. Early in the evenings, and especially on weekends, families brought out their mats to reserve the best spot to watch the films.
At these times, Jaegunyok had the capacity to buy and rent out major new films, fresh from the theatrical run. They had employees running in and out of the shop delivering film, setting up the screens at events, roping the area and collecting fares for tickets.
There used to be more than 50 film rental stores like Angkana's, and she used to screen films at more than 50 temples. Sirivaja Film, a couple of shophouses down the same street, is the only other surviving film rental shop in the area. Elsewhere in the province, Thana Rungroj is a major rental company.
Today, Angkana works at about 10 temples in the Thon Buri area, organising poorly attended open-air cinema events. She no longer rents out films because she can only afford to buy old movies, plus new titles are now no longer available in the 35mm format anymore.
The busier months begin in October and stretch to include the end of year festivities. It picks up again a little after Chinese New Year, and during the Songkran Festival. "The people of the committee at these temples are all old," says Angkana, adding that she fears the practise of projecting films at temples may die along with the committee members.
Technology has changed, and how people consume movies has also drastically changed. "These days, people watch DVDs at home and at these events, people sing karaoke instead," says Angkana.
"When I was growing up, 50% from the proceeds of these screenings used to go to the company screening the film, and the other 50% would go to the temples for things like roof repairs or a new paint job," says Sutin, 48, who is now a part of the Thai Love Cinema Club. He runs open-air screenings at various events, from temple fairs, to outdoor markets and universities, at least once a week in his free time. He works for the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand.
When Sutin graduated and started working, he was offered Wat Thong Sala Ngam's film equipment, including a 35mm projector, for 50,000 Baht and he jumped at the proposal. He organised the open-air cinema there between 1987 and 1997. "I saved up and was showing films until I paid out the interest," he says.
For him, the decline of open-air cinema was marked by the airing of the TV drama series Dao Pra Sook in 1994 — a hugely popular series that became a pop-cultural landmark — when people would stay in on Sunday nights instead of going to the cinema. The economic crisis in years that followed led to a further decline in attendees and the money he made was no longer enough to cover everything from lighting to sound and even to police patrol during the events.
Yet, he, like Angkana, keeps at it. There is an aura surrounding a film projector — a magnificent light. For the 65-year-old Angkana though, it is more about preserving the art of film and the prestige of the name Jaegunyok than about the money.
"It is my job," she says; a job that she can only keep doing as long as there are still people wishing to see the celluloid films that are still available. Although there are some select new movies that are brought out on celluloid for the more remote areas of Thailand, they are few and far between. Buying a digital projector is out of the question; getting one would cost at least a million baht, but Angkana is only making about 3,000 baht per event.
Sutin, meanwhile, makes about 7,000 baht, just enough to break even. He employs a team that fluctuates between five to seven other people who also have regular day jobs. He consistently tries to adapt to the changing environment, by, for example, improving the sound system, adding more bass to cater to the younger crowds. Sutin also manages to rent some of the newer films, like the recent I Fine, Thank You, Love You for 10,000 baht — all of which must be returned the very next day after the screening. For Valentines Day, 2013, he screened Kid Teung Wittaya (The Teacher's Diaries).
"There are many amateurs, but they aren't capable of showing a film whenever there is a request," Sutin says. "You need to be ready all the time. I think there are about 10 teams out there that are as committed as us."
Unlike Angkana, Sutin has also turned to the internet. He joined the web forum Pantown, under the name Lovecinema, about a decade ago with just four people as members. The forum now acts like a newspaper listing; advertising events as well as equipment. There are now over 1,000 members, around 60% of which are young adults in their early 20s, suggesting a renewed interest.
Although the drop-off in numbers of attendees to the events is likely to continue, this is still not enough, at least for Angkana and Sutin, for them to go digital. "No matter how much I love film, I'd rather spend the 2 million on a condo," Sutin says.
Angkana Kaewprathumrassamee looks through a collection of old movie posters.
