Celebrating its 20th anniversary this weekend, the Thai Short Film and Video Festival holds high its faith in small, personal movies. The longest-running film event in the country, the festival has over the years grown in size, scope and participants (as well as length, showing a programme of long films too), though at heart it remains a free-for-all showcase of student and independent films, as in its first edition in 1997.
Back then, there were only 30 entries in the film and VHS format. This year, over 600 films have been submitted in two main divisions, all in digital. As usual, the festival showed everything sent to them in late July at a preliminary "marathon" screening, and the actual festival showing the finalists will run from this Saturday until Aug 28. The venue is at the Film Archive in Salaya tomorrow and Sunday, and from Aug 23 at Bangkok Art and Culture Centre.
The highlights are the two main competitive sections -- the Chang Phuak programme, regarded as the most prestigious contest of student film in the country, and the Ratana Pestonji programme, open to general filmmakers. (This year, the section plays host to some big-name directors as well newcomers.)
Made without (or with very little) commercial pressure, these films are a sanctuary for stories untold in big-studio movies. The sometimes-eccentric, sometimes-political and altogether personal character of the entries have always been the main attraction of the festival during its two decades, as well as a major contributor to social reflection.
The festival also sets aside sections for documentaries, animated shorts, queer shorts and children's films as well as international titles curated from various sources (particularly the S-Express section, featuring short films from Southeast Asian countries, and a selection from Clermont-Ferrand, the world's leading short-film festival in France).
Besides short films -- which by definition must run fewer than 30 minutes -- the festival has for many years expanded its slots to include feature-length independent films that are highly unlikely to find regular release.
In this edition, some of the highlights are Bangkok Stories, an ensemble project in which six filmmakers each make a short film based on six neighbourhoods of the capital (Sukhumvit, Silom, Khao San, Chinatown, Mo Chit and Pahurat); Kwan Sao Khong Poot Phee (Insurgency Of A Tapir), a long-gestated project based on the writings of award-winning novelist Daen-aran Saengthong; and River Of Exploding Durians, a Malaysian film by Edmund Yeo.
In short, the programme is so vast that you have to look up the details at www.facebook.com/ThaiShortFilmVideoFestival. Even better, you can just pop into the screening room -- there's always something worth watching on the screen.
The 20th Thai Short Film and Video Festival runs from tomorrow until Aug 28. The venue during the first two days is Film Archive, Salaya, and from Aug 23 the event will move to the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre. Free admission. Call 02-482-2013.
