Bangkok Cinema Scene special: 16th Thai Short Film and Video Festival

The 16th Thai Short Film and Video Festival gets underway this week at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, screening some of the best Thai independent and student shorts as well as special programmes of films from all over the world.

It all starts at 5.30pm on Thursday with the local premiere of Ashes, one of the latest by Cannes Palme d'Or winner Apichatpong Weerasethakul. Premiered earlier this year on the sidelines of the Cannes Film Festival, the 20-minute experimental work was shot with the retro hand-cranked Lomokino 35mm-film camera. It's politically tinged, with Article 112, the controversial lese majeste law, credited among the "stars". Also in the cast is King Kong, not the giant ape, but Apichatpong's dog.

Other shorts in the opening are Pitch Black Heist, starring Michael Fassbender, which is part of the Bafta shorts package sponsored by the British Council, Thailand, and Il Capo, a look inside an Italian marble quarry that's part of the annual Best of Clermont-Ferrand package from the French short-film fest that's the biggest in the world. The opening night will also feature shorts by French comedy legend Jacques Tati.

One of many special programmes is from Friends Without Borders, a Chiang Mai NGO that works with the migrant community. It includes the latest from director Supamok Silarak, The Assembly of the Samurais, a behind-the-scenes feature documentary on the Friends Without Borders Holding Hands filmmaking workshop that brought together five ethnic filmmakers. It premiered earlier this year at Chiang Mai's Fly Beyond the Barbwire Fence Festival.

The shorts from the workshop will also be shown: Ja Daw's Choices, a romantic drama that's the first film by young Lahu Mo Tha, who is the main subject of The Assembly of the Samurais; A Comb and A Buckle, a family drama by Ja Bue, another young Lahu; Jabo Means the Man of Fortune, an action-drama by Lahu director Maitree Chamroensuksakul; Ta Mu La, a refugee's tale by Saw Shee Keh Sher, a Karen environmental activist and  When the Sky's Color Changes, a comedy by Hmong NGO leader Insree Khampeepanyakul about a district chief who unwittingly travels to a future in which the only safe places on earth are highland villages. Both Ta Mu La and Jabo were prize-winners at the Barbwire fest.

One of the Thai Short Film and Video Festival's annual programmes focuses on "queer" shorts, which this year takes a tuneful twist with Queer Musical! The programme offers five shorts focusing: Skallamann by Maria Bock from Norway; Boy Meets Boy by Gwang-soo Kim Jho from South Korea; Au Clair de la Lune by Dominique Filhol and Antoine Espagne from France; Slut the Musical by Tonnette Stanford from Australia and Put Your Fur Up by Thai filmmaker Phuwadon Torasint.

Spiritual matters are addressed in Dhamma Shorts, featuring three new works by well-known Thai filmmakers. Sang-Yen by Sivaroj Kongsakul; I Dreamed a Dream by Chookiat Sakveerakul and In the Farm by Uruphong Raksasad. All premiered earlier this year at the Buddhist International Film Festival Bangkok.

More pressing worries are examined in Apocalypse Now – not the Vietnam War epic, but a package of shorts by three filmmakers on the end of the world. They are Portrait of the Universe Napat Treepalawisetkun; L' Attaque du Monstre Géant Suceur de Cerveaux de l'Espace and Armadingen by Germany's Philipp Kaessbohrer.

Another compilation is this year's selection from the Digital Project of South Korea's Jeonju International Film Festival, featuring works by three Asian filmmakers: The Great Cinema Party by the Philippines' Raya Martin; Light in Yellow Breathing Space by Sri Lanka's Vimukthi Jayasundara; and When Night Falls by China's Ying Liang.

Another annual feature of the Thai Short Film and Video Fest is the S-Express packages of shorts from around the region. This year features programmes from the Philippines,Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Of course the main reason for the festival is the competition sections for new Thai indie shorts, student films, Thai animation, short documentaries and international filmmakers.

The festival runs daily from Thursday until August 26 except Monday at the Bangkok Art and Culture Center.

Screenings will be in the fifth-floor auditorium and in the fourth-floor conference room. Admission is free.

For more details, search for "16th Thai Short Film and Video Festival" on Facebook or visit www.ThaiFilm.com.

Bangkok Cinema Scene: Movies opening August 9-15, 2012

Brave

Pixar Animation offers a Disney fairy-tale princess spin on the blue-in-the-face Celtic bluster of Mel Gibson's Braveheart with Brave. It's the story of the headstrong daughter of a Scottish king who finds herself cursed after she defies an age-old custom regarding the traditional female role. She embarks on an adventure in which she must discover the meaning of true bravery.

The voice cast is heavy on Scottish brogue, with Kelly MacDonald (Boardwalk Empire, No Country for Old Men, Trainspotting) in the lead as Princess Merida, a young woman who'd rather hone her archery skills than get married. Comedian Billy Connolly is her father the king with Emma Thompson as the queen. Julie Walters, Robbie Coltrane, Kevin McKidd and Craig Ferguson also star.

With the heroine's fiery mane of red hair, Brave looks fantastic, but it has been derided as "minor Pixar" by critics who've been spoiled by the heights of Pixar storytelling perfection, such as the Toy Story series and The Incredibles. Though not as bad as the Cars movies, critical reception is mixed, but still mostly positive. It's in 3D in some cinemas. Rated G.

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Also opening

The Bourne Legacy – In a reboot of sorts for the Bourne movie franchise, The Hurt Locker star Jeremy Renner takes over the lead from Matt Damon, and Tony Gilroy, writer on the first three Bourne movies, replaces director Paul Greengrass. Renner is Aaron Cross, another agent trained for black-ops using unorthodox brain-altering methods that were similar to those used to create the killing machine Jason Bourne. With the CIA rushing to close the books on the controversial program and eliminate the agents, Cross escapes and sets out to expose his corrupt superiors. Some scenes were filmed in Manila. Rachel Weisz, Edward Norton, Joan Allen, David Strathairn, Albert Finney, Scott Glenn, Oscar Isaac and Stacy Keach also star. Reportedly, there's still a chance Damon might return to the franchise, but only with Greengrass as the director. Critical reception, so far, is mixed. Rated 15+.

A Simple Life – Director Ann Hui's drama dominated the major Hong Kong and Chinese-language movie awards last year and earlier this year. Deanie Ip stars as a servant who's worked for four generations of a Hong Kong family and is with the last remaining family member (Andy Lau) when she suffers a stroke. Giving ever more time and attention to his servant's needs, the man comes to realize how much she means to him. It's a fact-based story, inspired by the experiences producer Roger Lee had with his own family's servant. There are many cameos by actual Hong Kong stars. See if you can spot them all. Winner of the best actress prize at last year's Venice festival, critical reception is glowingly postive. A Simple Life played in Bangkok earlier this year as part of the Hong Kong Film Festival, and it now opens for a limited run at SF World Cinema at CentralWorld and at House on RCA.

Always on My Mind (คิดถึงทุกคืน, Khid Tueng Took Khuen) – Sakchai Deenan, the director of the Sabaidee trilogy of romances that paired Thai leading men with a Lao actress, offers another cross-border romance in the same vein. Here, he pairs Thai actors Pawarith Mongkolpisit and Sirachat Jianthaworn with Lao actresses Nuta Rajwonglao and Sangdawee Malisomchai. It screens at 7.30 nightly at the Esplanade Ratchada.

Sat2Mon (คืนวันเสาร์ถึงเช้าวันจันทร์ , Khuen Wan Sao Thueng Chao Wan Jan) – Multi-hyphenate musician and actor "Dan" Worrawech Danuwong adds writer-director to his roster of titles with this romantic comedy released by Sahamongkolfilm International. Dan has been the star of seemingly dozens of romantic comedies and dramas that have been huge hits with his legion of young fans. Here, he directs and stars as a TV producer in love with an anchorwoman, and he convinces her friend to help him woo her, but things of course become complicated. Rated 15+.

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Also showing

Les inséparables – Christine Dory directs this 2008 drama starring Guillaume Depardieu and Marie Vialle about a drug addict who falls in love with a co-dependant woman. Together, they find ways for their passion to give them strength. It's in French with English subtitles at the Alliance Française on Wednesday, August 15, at 7.30pm

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Take note

Two Thai indie films, Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit's 36, which I first mentioned last week, and Kongej Jaturanrasmee's P-047 are continuing their limited runs. Nawapol's 36, which is comprised of 36 single-shot scenes, is at House at 6 nightly until Sunday while P-047 is at the Lido. Both are well-worth seeing and supporting!

And clear your calendars for next week – the 16th Thai Short Film and Video Festival starts on August 16 and runs until August 26 at the Bangkok Art and Culture Center. I hope to hear more soon about the highlights of the longest-running Thai film festival, so stay tuned.

Bangkok Cinema Scene: Movies opening August 2-8, 2012

Total Recall

I don't know why it's necessary to remake Total Recall. The 1990 original by Paul Verhoeven, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, still holds up today, thanks to practical special effects and miniatures that didn't rely on hokey CGI trickery. It's part of a canon of late '80s and early '90s sci-fi classics that also includes Verhoeven's Robocop (also with a remake in the works) and James Cameron's Terminator films.

But whatever. Now we have a new Total Recall, which puts Colin Farrell in the Schwarznegger role of a man who's had his memories of being a secret agent on Mars erased, and shadowy forces at work to keep him from remembering.

The setting is similarly futuristic, in a dystopian society where dreams, memory and reality are blurred, thanks to memory-implant technology by the Rekall company, which provides customers with virtual vacations.

Len Wisemen, helmer of the Underworld series of vampire movies directs, and he puts his wife and Underworld star Kate Beckinsale in the Sharon Stone role.

Bryan Cranston, Bookeem Woodbine, John Cho, Bill Nighy and Jessica Biel also star.

Kurt Wimmer, the writer-director of the dystopian drama Equilibrium as well as screenwriter of such films as Salt and Law Abiding Citizen, handles the screenplay. It's adapted from a Philip K. Dick story.

It could actually be ok. However, Total Recall doesn't come out in the U.S. until tomorrow, so there's not yet many reviews. Rated 13+.

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Also opening

Echo Planet (เอคโค่ จิ๋วก้องโลก, Echo Jew Kong Loke) – It was back in 2006 that the Thai movie industry entered the age of computer animation with Khan Kluay, the tale of a little tusker who would become the brave war elephant of King Naresuan the Great. Despite its very nationalistic historical storyline, Khan Kluay attracted overseas buyers, spawned a sequel and made a name for Kantana Animation. Now Khan Kluay director Kompin Kemgumnird, a veteran of animated features at Disney and Blue Sky Studios, aims for even broader international appeal with Echo Planet (เอคโค่ จิ๋วก้องโลก, Echo Jew Kong Loke). The environmentally themed story is about a gifted Karen boy who can talk to animals and his tough older sister. They rescue a foreigner boy scout who is the son of the president of Capital State. The three of then set off on an adventure in which they have to stop a project that will cause environmental havoc. Read more about it in a Nation article today. It's in 3D in some cinemas. Rated G.

Ka Nam Nom (ค่าน้ำนม) – Social-problem dramas used to be a large component of the Thai film industry back in the 1970s and '80s, but have mostly been relegated these days in favor of horror, comedies and weepy romantic melodramas. Ka Nam Nom, literally "mother's milk", comes out just before the August 12 Queen's Birthday and Thai Mother's Day holiday, and seeks to get back to the roots of social-problem movies. Chudapha Chanthakhet stars as a widowed single mother who struggles to raise her boy and girl, and hopes they will rise from their hardscrabble, small-town roots and have better lives. Full of promise, brother and sister head to Bangkok for schooling, but end up getting caught up in all the various problems that come with life in the big city, such as gang fights and drugs. Teerapat Yamsri and Uttama Chiwanichpan star as the brother and sister and Nati Phunmanee directs. Rated 15+.

The Son of No One – Channing Tatum. He's so hot right now. With recent critically hailed starring roles in such movies as the action drama Haywire, the comedy spoof 21 Jump Street and the strip-dancing drama Magic Mike, based partly on his own life, Thai distributors dip into Tatum's recent backlog of work and pull out The Son of No One, a police drama that saw only a limited release in a few territories last year and mostly went direct to video. He's a rookie cop assigned to the precinct in the working-class neighborhood where he grew up, and where an old secret threatens to destroy his life. Al Pacino also stars, along with James Ransone, Ray Liotta, Tracy Morgan, Katie Holmes and Juliet Binoche. Critical reception is mostly negative. It's at Major Cineplex branches, including Paragon, Mega, Esplanade and EGV. Rated 18+.

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Also showing

36 – Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit is a well-known independent filmmaker who's done several award-winning shorts. In the past few years, he's broken into the mainstream industry as a screenwriter on several projects with the GTH studio, including the romance that's currently in cinemas, Seven Something. He also has his own project going, the medium-length feature 36, an experimental effort composed of 36 shots that is described as a "relationship movie that touches on melancholic memories and old buildings". He's been self-releasing the film for the past month or so, organizing screenings at the Bangkok Art and Culture Center, the Alliance Francais and now at House. He's been promoting the screenings through the social networks and the Thai media, and most sessions have sold out. It's at House on RCA, showing at 1.45pm and 5.15pm until Sunday.

La tête de maman – Carine Tardieu directs this 2007 comedy-drama starring Karin Viard, Kad Merad and Pascal Elbé. It's about a 15-year-old girl who wants to bring happiness back into the life of her ailing mother, so she sets out to locate her mom's old boyfriend - now a middle-aged veterinarian. It's in French with English subtitles at the Alliance Française on Wednesday, August 8, at 7.30pm.

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Take note

Director Kongej Jaturanrasmee's trippy psychological drama P-047 (Tae Peang Phu Deaw, แต่เพียงผู้เดียว) is continuing its limited release for a third week at the Lido and Esplanade Ratchada. I don't want to explain much more about the movie. Just go see it.