Worth the wait

This year the annual Bangkok International Film Festival is on a diet, with fewer and lower-profile stars scheduled for the red carpet on opening night - July 19 at CentralWorld's SF World Cinema.

Due to the chaos created by the resignation of the festival's director, American Craig Prater, organisers the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) postponed the event from February to July.

The festival's artistic director, Kriangsak Silakong, and his team from The Nation-hosted World Film Festival took over the search for more than 100 feature and short films from around the globe.

 "This year we spent almost Bt80 million [half the amount spent in previous years]. But we've kept the festival's standards and will have a variety of workshops and seminars," says Surapol Sawetseranee, deputy governor for marketing communications for the TAT.

Anticipated on the festival's opening night are appearances from veteran Indian superstar Hema Malini and British actress Kate Dickie from "Red Road".

Replacing the acclaimed French-Iranian animated film "Persepolis" - at the request of the Iranian Embassy - Krisztina Goda's feature "Children of Glory" from Hungary opens the festival on Thursday.

The documentary is based on the true story of Hungary's water polo victory over the Soviet Union in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics.

During the 10-day festival, 100 films from around 30 countries will be screened in eight categories: Asian, Asean, Thai Panorama, Documentary, Luis Bunuel Retrospective, Windows on the World, A Tribute to Hema Malini, and International Shorts.

This year's focus is Asia - more than 50 films from all over the continent, including Iraq, will be screened. Highlights include "Omkara" (India), "The Other Half" (China), "Spider Lilies" (Taiwan), and "Lost In Beijing" (China).

Pen-Ek Ratanaruang's "Ploy" will compete with eight other films for the Golden Kinnaree Award.

Thai action film "Muay Thai Chaiya" by director Kongkiet Komsiri ("Long Kong") will make its world premiere on the festival's closing night, July 29. The film portrays the traditional martial art of Thai boxing - muay kad chuek.

Wisit Satsanatieng's critically acclaimed "Unseeable", "The Rebel" (Vietnam) and "The Lost Suitcase" (Indonesia) are in the Asean category.

Besides the Golden Kinnaree, the festival will also present awards for the best films in the Asean and short film categories.

Aiming to show how the Thai film industry has grown up, 10 Thai films from the past two years will be re-screened at the festival in the Thai panorama category. Among them are "King Naresuan Parts I and II", "Me Myself", "Seasons Change", "Final Score" and "13 Beloved".

Thirty films, many of which won awards at prominent film festivals, will be screened in the Window of the World category, including the animated feature film "Renaissance" from the UK, which features narration by Jonathan Pryce and Daniel Craig; the Cannes-awarded "Edge of Heaven" by Fatih Akin; and Manoel de Oliveira's "Belle Toujours" from Portugal.

Among the documentaries being presented are "Caribbean Pearl" and "Havana: The New Art of Making Ruins", both from Cuba, and "Black Gold", about multinational coffee companies. "Mystic Ball" follows film-maker Greg Hamilton as he delves in to the ancient and little-known culture of Burma and its traditional sport, chinlone.

In a tribute to Spanish film-maker Luis Bunuel (1900-1983), filmgoers will have a chance to view seven of his rare films showcasing his talent in a variety of genres.

Bunuel's style of directing was extremely economical. He shot films in a few weeks, never deviating from his script, and shooting

scenes in order as much as possible to minimise editing time. A close friend of surrealist artist Salvador Dali and poet Federico Garcia Lorca, Bunuel's work shows a strong surrealist influence.

Bunuel's films at the festival are "Belle de Jour", "The Diary of a Chambermaid", "The Way Milky", "The Phantom of Liberty", "That Obscure Object of Desire", "Tristana" and the classic short "Un Chien Andalou".

During the festival, leading Thai and international film-makers, producers and juries will share their views and experiences in the film industry.

As part of the festival, the Bangkok Film Market will see film-makers set up around 96 booths from July 23 to 25 at Royal Paragon Hall in Siam Paragon.

Frenchman Christian Jeune from the Cannes Film Festival, Taiwanese film-maker Peggy Chiao and American producer Gary Dartnall form the jury that will decide which film wins the Golden Kinnaree Award, to be announced on July 28 at SF World Cinema. The closing ceremony takes place the next day.

Pattarawadee Saengmanee