Learning Chinese - Bangkok film festival opens with Asian focus but less sparkle

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Bangkok film festival opens with Asian focus but less sparkle

(AFP)
Updated: 2007-07-20 09:48





Thai celebrities arrive for the opening night of the Bangkok
International Film in Bangkok. [AFP]

The Bangkok International Film Festival kicked off late Thursday with a
new focus on Asian cinema, but considerably less sparkle than previous
years when Hollywood stars filled the red carpet.

More than 100 films are set to be screened over 10 days in a brand-new
cinema complex in downtown Bangkok.

"The industry in Thailand is growing well. Other Asian countries like
(South) Korea, Japan and India are famous for films. As part of Asia, we
want to showcase this," said Phornsiri Manoharn, president of the
festival, at the opening ceremony.

But the five-year-old festival that has aimed to rival Busan in South
Korea as Asia's leading film event has been dogged by organisational
problems and controversy, while Thailand's post-coup government has cut
its budget.

The film originally set to screen during the opening gala Thursday, the
award-winning Iranian film "Persepolis," was dropped at the last minute
after the Iranian embassy protested that it portrayed the country
negatively.

In its place, the festival is opening with "Children of Glory," a 2006
Hungarian film about a bloody water polo match at the 1956 Olympics set
amid the Hungarian Revolution against the Soviet Union.

The opening itself came six months late, after the festival was forced to
delay its scheduled January opening when the cinema originally set to
host the event pulled out due to financial concerns.

The festival's budget was reportedly slashed by nearly 50 percent to 80
million baht after the military seized control of the government in a
bloodless coup last September.

The military has cut other cultural spending, axing Bangkok's Fashion
Week among other programmes, while quadrupling the defence budget.

While celebrities like Oliver Stone, Willem Dafoe and Catherine Deneuve
lined the red carpet in 2006, no major international stars are attending
this year.

A handful of regional stars are making appearances, including Bollywood
actress Hema Malini, Israeli director Amos Gitai, and Vietnamese action
star Johnny Nguyen.

The festival winds up on July 28, when the panels of international judges
will award Golden Kinnarees -- named after a half-bird, half-woman from
Thai mythology -- to the best international film, best regional film and
best short film.

The Bangkok festival has failed to gain momentum in part because of
disputes between the Tourism Authority of Thailand -- the government
agency that sponsors the festival -- and the Thai film industry
confederation.

The rivalries led to the creation of a second event called the World Film
Festival of Bangkok, which critics say divides the resources and
attention of the country's relatively small film community.

























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