Screening ideas on love

"Our duty is to improve the hospital's qualities," says Anuwat Supachutikul, president of the Institute of Hospital Quality Improvement and Accreditation (HA). "We want to present changes and improvement in hospitals, but since we're in the thick of things, our viewpoint might be limited. We want to see what other people have to say."

Participants must be between the ages of 18 and 25 and should come in a team of three or four members, each producing a five-minute film. Since it may not be easy to convey the message in such a limited time, two big-screen veterans offer some advice.

"The theme is quite broad. There are many ways you can explore it. It's not necessary to present the viewpoints of doctors or nurses. You have to think differently. There are many characters in hospitals such as patients' relatives or even the security guards," says Nantakwang Sirasoontorn, well-known film critic and a member of the competition committee.

Parkpoom Wongpoom, the director of "The Shutter" and "Alone" and also a committee member, advises participants to devote their time to script writing.

"The script is the most important. Spend most of your time thinking about it. The team that explores the theme most satisfactorily will be the winner," he says, who also paved his career path from short films.

Nantakwang advises each team to have to have a clear idea about their film.

"Don't use too many characters. Don't have a big production. It's not important. Think of the content. Pay attention to the style. It may mean that some people might like to use different camera angles to present their message. Sometimes the content may have to be reduced.

"Having a unique style is good but it shouldn't be too different," says Nantakwang. "Most importantly, you should have a clear idea of what you want to convey."

Winners will get Bt20,000 and runners up Bt10,000. The films will be shown in an award ceremony on October 31.

Apart from Nantakwang and Parkpoom, the committee also includes Sunita Ruangronghirunya, the director of "My Space" and "Khao Chon Kai"; and Duangsamorn Boonpadung, the vice-president of HA.

Applicants have until September 28 to complete their films.

The competition is organised by the Institute of Hospital Quality Improvement and Accreditation (HA) and Thai Health Promotion Foundation.

For more information, log on to www.ha.or.th.

Suwicha Chanitnun