New Thai Cinema Series, March 8 - April 13, 2019
When director Apichatpong Weerasethakul received funding in 2003 for a film with the title Monster!, the mainstream Thai studios backing the project expected the kind of film that they had been financing for decades: a fast-paced, action-packed mythical-horror film with lots of gore, sex and, well, monsters! While Weerasethakul’s film delivered on the monsters and sex, it was neither the kind of monster nor the kind of sex they had in mind. Nor did they anticipate that the film (Tropical Malady in English) would become an international sensation, and the first Thai film to be in the main competition at Cannes, where it won the Jury Prize. Realizing that Weerasethakul was creating a film Sight and Sound described as “a work of outstanding originality and power,” the studios’ response was swift and unequivocal: the immediate withdrawal of all investment.
When the Thai film industry nearly grinded to a halt as a result of the Asian financial crisis in 1997, something completely unexpected happened: a new kind of cinema began to emerge from the wreckage, a kind of cinema that not only dared to challenge the traditional narratives describing the previous centuries’ seemingly endless cycle of political violence, but also one that pushed the structural and conceptual boundaries of cinema. This film series is an attempt to highlight this history, beginning at the start of the millennium with Tropical Malady and following the development of independent Thai cinema all the way to last year’s Manta Ray.
While the political violence in Thailand has yet to find resolution, young filmmakers have, for the past two decades, forged a new and innovative approach to creating films outside of the mainstream studio system. Despite a near total lack of government-sponsored funding for the arts and in the face of draconian censorship and lèse-majesté laws, emerging filmmakers from Thailand have developed an open and collaborative environment to foster the creation of bold and challenging films. This independent system opened the doors to many silenced voices, including a new generation of women filmmakers such as Pimpaka Towira, whose Island Funeral will have its Boston debut, as well as Danaya Chulphuthiphong’s Night Watch, Jirassaya Wongsutin’s That Day of the Month and Puangsoi Aksornsawang’s Nakorn-Sawan.
The New Thai Cinema series celebrates these filmmakers, from whose work has emerged a distinctive and uncompromising voice in contemporary international cinema. – Anocha Suwichakornpong, filmmaker and Visiting Lecturer on Visual and Environmental Studies, Harvard University.
Curated by Anocha Suwichakornpong.
Co-sponsored by the Asia Center, Harvard.
All screenings will be held at the Harvard Film Archive, 24 Quincy St., Cambridge
Friday, March 8, 2019, 7 p.m.
The Songs of Rice (Pleng khong kao)
Directed by Uruphong Raksasad
Thailand 2014, color, 75 min. Thai with English subtitles
Friday, March 8, 2019, 8:45 p.m.
Vanishing Point
Directed by Jakrawal Nilthamrong. With Ongard Cheamcharoenpornkul, Drunphob Suriyawong, Chalee Choueyai
Thailand/The Netherlands 2015, color & b/w, 100 min., Thai with English subtitles
Saturday, March 9, 2019, 7 p.m.
Eternity (Tee rak)
Directed by Sivaroj Kongsakul. With Pattraporn Jaturanrassmee, Wanlop Rungkumjad, Namfon Udomlertlak
Thailand 2011, 105 min., Thai with English subtitles
Preceded by :
Night Watch
Directed by Danaya Chulphuthiphong
Thailand 2015, color, 10 min. No dialogue
Sunday, March 10, 2019, 4 p.m.
Railway Sleepers (Mon Rot Fai)
Directed by Sompot Chidgasornpongse
Thailand 2017, color, 102 min., Thai with English subtitles
Preceded by:
A Room with a Coconut View
Directed by Tulapop Saenjaroen
Thailand 2018, color, 29 min., Thai with English subtitles
Sunday, April 7, 2019, 7 p.m.
Nakorn-Sawan
Directed by Puangsoi Aksornsawang
Thailand/Germany 2018, color, 90 min., Thai with English subtitles
Preceded by:
That Day of the Month (Wannan kong duen)
Directed by Jirassaya Wongsutin
Thailand 2014, color, 30 min., Thai with English subtitles
Monday, April 8, 2019, 7 p.m.
The Island Funeral (Maha samut lae susaan)
Directed by Pimpaka Towira
Thailand 2017, color, 105 min., Thai with English subtitles
Preceded by:
Endless, Nameless
Directed by Mont Tesprateep
Thailand 2014, b/w, 23 min
Friday, April 12, 2019, 7 p.m.,
Tropical Malady (Sud pralad)
Directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul.
Thailand/France/Germany/Italy 2004, color, 118 min., Thai with English subtitles
Special Event: Phuttiphong Aroonpheng in Person
Saturday, April 13, 2019, 7 p.m.
Manta Ray (Kraben rahu)
Aroonphengs feature debut as a director (he was a cinematographer for both Vanishing Point and The Island Funeral) is a poetic rendition of one of the most pressing issues in global politics today: the plight of the Rohingya refugees. Awarded the Orrizonti Prize at the Venice Film Festival in 2018, the film has since been prominently featured on the festival circuit, winning many awards including Best Film at Mumbai Film Festival and Best Director at Thessaloniki Film Festival.
Directed by Phuttiphong Aroonpheng
Thailand/France/China 2018, color, 105 min., Thai with English subtitles
Preceded by:
With History in a Room Filled with People with Funny Names 4
Directed by Korakrit Arunanondchai
Thailand 2018, color, 24 min