A Thai film producer will today meet with officials from Laos to explore ways to end the uproar over the film "Mak Te" ("Football").

Vientiane says the Thai-made film is inappropriate as it makes fun of Laos and its football team.

The Lao Foreign Ministry summoned Udomsak Sritangos, No 2 at the Thai Embassy in Vientiane, on Friday to raise its concerns over the film. Lao authorities want the Thai producer - GMM Tai Hub Co - to halt Thursday's screening, a Lao official said yesterday.

GMM sent a copy of the film to the Vientiane government so it might identify those scenes it feels need modifying, a GMM official said yesterday. The company is willing to modify the film if the Lao authorities can prove it will cause offence and spark feelings of hate between the two countries, the official said.

"Mak Te" is a comedy about the Thai and Lao football teams, in which the Lao team makes it to the World Cup. Lao authorities say it mocks Laos and puts the team's success down to its Thai coach.

Several of the Lao players dye their hair to look like Western football stars and the team practises in a refrigerated container to get used to cold weather.

These scenes might cause unease among Laotians as they make fun of the national football team, a Lao official who saw a preview of the film last week, said.

Lao students who have seen advertisements for the film on Thai television have also filed complaints with the Lao Embassy in Bangkok to express their dissatisfaction with some scenes, he said.

The Lao Foreign Ministry has taken the matter seriously as cultural sensitivities between the two countries have been ruffled several times in the recent past, which has jeopardised diplomatic ties, he said.

Vientiane is worried the film could lead to the kind of anti-Thai sentiment seen in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh in January 2003, when the Thai Embassy was burned to the ground after a misunderstanding over a statement by a Thai TV star, the official said.

Supalak Ganjanakhundee

The Nation