Short, sharp, shock

Censorship fears, post-coup desperation and the worsening conflict between Muslims and Buddhists in south Thailand are the themes that pervade the 11th Thai Short Film and Video Festival, which opens at 6 tonight at Grand EGV Siam Discovery Centre.

"We would like to continue our campaign on 'Free Thai Cinema' following the case of censorship of Apichatpong Weerasethakul's 'Syndromes and a Century', so the festival will present shorts produced by Pimpaka Towira on 'Free Thai Cinema', documenting comments on the freedom of expression on film," says festival programmer Chalida Uabumrungjit.  

Organised by Thai Film Foundation, the Kingdom's longest-running film festival continues to be an important platform for young filmmakers and artists, as well as secondary school students who produce short films as medium of expression. Out of more than 400 shorts submitted, around 70 pieces were selected for this year's competition.

"This year's films in competition have stronger messages than the previous year," Chalida said. "The films reflect today's current situation on our society, following the September 19, 2006 coup. Some shorts portrays conflict in the deep south, while some pose questions about the freedom of expression, democracy and religion, as well as making film - as a kind of art form," she says.

One running theme is "Syndromes and a Century", an acclaimed film by Apichatpong that premiered last year at the Venice Film Festival and went on to be shown at dozens of film festivals around the world. The film was scheduled for a limited release earlier this year, but the Board of Censors demanded that four scenes be cut: a Buddhist monk playing a guitar, two monks playing with a remote-control flying saucer, some doctors drinking whisky and a doctor kissing his girlfriend. Instead of cutting the scenes, Apichatpong refused to release his film in Thailand. The full film did receive a press preview in Thailand, but it's unlikely that it will ever be released for a wider audience here.

"Many films question Buddhism. They are influenced by censorship of Apichatpong's scene of monk playing a guitar," Chalida adds.

While in previous years, youth culture and love stories were main themes, this year's festival has more variety, with topics of sub-culture, folk art and everyday-life issues.

The strongest category is for the documentaries, in which 10 shorts were selected to compete. Among the films are Urupong Raksasat's "The Rocket", depicting the "bang fai" rocket festival of Isaan. The seafaring Moken people are depicted in "Moken, Right?", while a garland seller is the subject of "The Jasmine in Pattani".

Not only for Thais, the festival is growing annually. This year, an "international competition" section was opened, featuring 12 out of 100 shorts submitted by filmmakers from around the globe. The winner will get Bt50,000, supported by Culture Ministry's Contemporary Art and Culture Office.

A special programme for this year is "Spoken Silence", which groups films that loudly speak in a "visual language".

"Post-September 19, many Thais have kept their lips sealed, although we're desperate to express ourselves," Chalida says. "Films in this programme will reflect how filmmakers portray this frustrating situation."

Screening on August 24 from 7pm to 9.30pm, the 90-minute programme features 11 shorts. Afterwards, there will be a question-and-answer session.

To promote female filmmakers, the festival invited Anocha Suwichakornpong to make a two-minute-short that will try and encapsulate all the festival's overarching themes. Anocha, whose previous short "Graceland" was screened in the official selection at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, will premiere her new work today, and her short will rerun before every screening during the festival.

Another premiere will be a series of two-minute shorts by director Pimpaka Towira, commissioned by the "Free Thai Cinema" movement, capturing people's views on censorship and the proposed new film ratings system. Pimpaka also has completed a feature-length documentary, "The Truth Be Told", about media activist Supinya Klangnarong, which may be subjected to censorship before it is given a wide release in Thai cinemas.

Censored filmmaker Apichatpong will screen his "Anthem", a five-minute, 35-millimeter short that was shown at the Thailand press preview of "Syndromes and a Century".

Similar to the Royal Anthem that precedes every cinema screening in Thailand, "Anthem" was created to be played before film screenings as an audio-visual purification process. As explained by three actresses in the film, a CD of techno music blessed by a Buddhist monk is played to channel the audience's positive energy and clear their mind. What ensues is a Felliniesque celebration of the body, mind and spirit.

Wong Hoi-chung's animation "A Midnight Story" will also screened. The five-minute animation tells story of a conflict between a small pushcart and a big garbage truck.

"My Day" is a 14-minute work by South African Bela Lukac is about a man who has a long bus ride to a job interview in Cape Town. The ride proves to be full of pitfalls, but man staunchly resists violence and corruption.

"La traverse"  ("The Crossing") by French filmmaker Mava Poli is about Sabrina, a young woman, who works at the Le Havre docks. She meets Aicha, an old Algerian woman who embodies Algerian culture unknown to Sabrina, despite of her own North-African origin.

The opening day will wrap with "Rabbit", an eight-minute animation by Run Wrake from the UK, who portrays a story of lost innocence and the random justice of nature.

Along with "Rabbit", dozens of animated shorts will be featured in the "British Animation" programme, which is a mix of silents, traditional, computer and stop-motion animation. The programme will be screened from 8.30pm to 10.30pm on August 25.

The festival also presents selected films from La Femis, the French State Film School in Paris, on August 23 and August 26. Most films in this programme won awards from festivals in Cannes, San Sebastian and Clermont-Ferrand.

Out of international competition, seven shorts from Spain will be shown from 8.30pm to 10.30pm on August 21.

"They are still interesting, although these pieces could not complete in the category. We might familiar with French or British shorts, but films from Spain are quite rare," Chalida says. "Interestingly, religion is the main subject matter in these Spanish shorts. Festival-goers will see how these filmmakers approach sensitive issues, which I think has some similarities to our Buddhist culture."  

If you missed experimental films by veteran writer-painter Suchart Sawasdsri's films screened at Thammasat University a few months ago, there will be another chance to view his work when he presents a video of his painting process, plus his selected art films in the "Personal Histories" programme. The 94-minute-programme takes place from 6.10pm on August 25. A Q and A session will follow.

Short film in not only for adults. School children are welcome to join the festival for the Children's Programme featuring six shorts from 11am to 1pm on August 25. 

The 11th Thai Short Film and Video Festival opens at 6pm today at Grand EGV Siam Discovery Centre and runs until August 26. Tickets are Bt60 (or Bt50 for 10 tickets inclusive of a festival catalogue). For  more information and programmes thaishortfilmfest.com/11 or call (02) 800 2817.

Phatarawadee Phataranawik