7pm
Art and Film

The Class, Araya Rasdjamrearnsook, 6 min, 2005, Thailand
Good afternoon. Outside the leaves are turning yellow.
The end of Autumn will come soon. It reminds me of a television show from somewhere in Europe in 1997 called Solitary Leave-taking in Autumn that claimed that more people die alone in autumn than in any other season.
I’d like to introduce myself a little bit.
I came here to talk to you about death more than to do a performance, but anything, any action, can be interpreted to have several meanings. The meaning of death that we are going to talk about is no different. Most people say that “dying is taking leave forever.”
But if death does mean that, it is a leave-taking that makes a return impossible. At least, the concept of “no return” makes people’s remembrance of the dead stronger.

But how long are we going to keep thinking of someone who died?
After you died, how long did you think of the living, those whom you left behind?

Quiet Storm, Kamol Phaosavasdi, 3 min., 2005, Thailand
After a huge disaster tsunami attacked the south of Thailand on 26th December 2004, it created a tragic memory across the country. There were a large number of lost people and houses, electricity and all accommodations were destroyed. The situation became the main inspiration for the artist Kamol Phaosavasdi to create a series of artworks as a memorial to the lost spirit. This video work is part of an exhibition about the expression of content and ideas that allow the audience to realize this disaster from the sense of spiritual emotion and to pay respect to the lost persons.

(text from Art Center, Center of Academic Resources, Chulalongkorn University)

No Fly Zone, Sakarin Krue-On, 6 min., 2005, Thailand
Satirizing the term “No Fly Zone” or its literal translation in Thai, “No Flies Allowed,” Sakarin Krue-On reflects upon the race to develop technologies to protect the Thai border. This zone is around us, we are just flies, waiting to be crushed.

The Scent of Iron Pussy, Michael Shoawanasai, 1.30 min., 2005, Thailand
A challenge to the audiences’ perceptions and expectations of images on the screen.

Mao Khe Coal Mine Project Oct 2001, Tran Luong, 16.45 min., 2002, Vietnam
This is a video documentation of a community-based project by artists from Hanoi. They spent several of days at Mao Khe Coal Mine in North Vietnam, and started a work site together.

Kiku Sadudrak, Shigeaki Iwai, 20 min., 2005, Japan/Thailand
Shigeaki Iwai’s video work, Kiku Sadudrak was realized for the exhibition, Interweaving Cultures at the Jim Thompson House in Bangkok. The work revolves around a movie poster, and potential relationships between audiences (mainly Japanese) that might result at the famous tourist attraction. The movie posters were distributed and posted on the streets, at universities, and in public spaces in the Bangkok area. They became the departure point for the artist to engage audiences by interviewing their reaction and ideas about the posters.

A Carp Jumps In His Mind, Christelle LHEUREUX, 31 min., 2005, France/Japan
Inspired by watching Barefoot Gen, a manga by Keiji Nakazawa.
From this movie, we will see nothing.
A voice is telling us their story.
The voice of a young Japanese boy, wandering by the mountains around Hiroshima, sixty years later.

The story of the A-bomb through its representations, including manga; what it began, and what it produces in imagery, through the subjectivity of a young boy.

Superflex’s Guanara Power Commercials, 1 min., 2004, Denmark
GUARANÁ POWER is an energy drink produced by a guaraná farmers cooperative from Maués in the Brazilian Amazon, in collaboration with The Power Foundation. The farmers have organized themselves in response to the activities of two multinational corporations, a cartel whose monopoly on the purchase of the raw material has driven the price of guaraná berries down 80%, while the cost of their products to the consumer has increased.

GUARANÁ POWER employs global brands and their strategies as raw material to explore a counter-economic position while reclaiming the original use of the Maués guaraná plant as a powerful natural tonic, not just a symbol. GUARANÁ POWER contains original Maués guaraná for energy and empowerment.

CHPRR, Brian Duggan, 3.51 min., 2005, Ireland
"Unquestionably, Duggan’s character is at first sight an outright oddball: curiously attired in a white protective body suit he performs a series of outdoor tasks which appear designed to test or improve his physical capacities and in each instance his considerable determination is matched only by obvious exasperation at the limitations of his powers". Declan Long

Beauty, Kaewkaw Na Chiengmai, 2.35 min., 2004, Thailand
There are so many ways to make girls beautiful. There are also so many ways girls hurt themselves because of their yearning for beauty.

INHALE-EXHALE, Montri Toemsombat, 10 min., 2005, Thailand
The performance/installation INHALE-EXHALE draws its inspiration from meditation, a pure mental exercise borrowed from traditional Buddhist culture that leads to developing and traveling deeply into the spirit. In the present socio-economic context, this discipline is for the artist a way to reach the necessary clairvoyance and wisdom required for free-will of thought and action.

Heroes and Hernias, Tuan Andrew Nguyen, 11 min, USA.
Documentation of a performance in which the artist questions our attachment to violence by challenging his campus-mates to an after school fight.

Running time: 94 min.

9pm
Tsunami Program
In collaboration with Office of Contemporary Art & Culture, Ministry of Culture, Thailand

Ghost of Asia, Apichatpong Weerasethakul/Christelle Lheureux, 9 min., 2005, Thailand and France/Japan
The video installation Ghost of Asia (2005) is a collaboration between two film-makers, Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Christelle Lheureux, taking the recent Tsunami in Asia as its starting point. For this double projection, the directors have used the idea of a ghost seen wandering along the rocky coastline of a Thai island and, in a life-affirming gesture, they invited some local children to direct the film for them, suggesting and filming the movements of the actor-ghost. By projecting their own ideas on to this ghostly creature, half real, half imagined, the children’s fantasies are given real substance, their childish game mediated by the adult ‘game’ of shooting a film.

Waves of Souls, Pipope PANITCHPAKDI, 9 min., 2005, Thailand
After the tsunami incident, many organizations and foundations went to the effected area. Some helped to build houses, some offered membership, some gave money and some bought souls. The film focuses on the beliefs of the island natives.

After Shock, Thunska Pansittivorakul, 11 min., 2005, Thailand
I had never been to Phuket before. The sky there was spectacular. The clouds were moving in the way I had never seen in Bangkok. While I was on the trip, the radio news announced that Tsunami might happen again. People were rushing into the town. The next morning, I started filming. That day the day the sky was more beautiful, and the world was still a safe place. People were still fascinating, and more sexually attractive than ever.

Andaman, Sompot CHIDGASORNPONGSE, 17 min., 2005, Thailand
A short trip in a short time to the southern sea of Thailand. Little groups of lives gather around with different purposes and backgrounds. Today and yesterday might not be the same, but isn't the sea still captivating?

Smile of the 5th Night, Sonthaya Subyen, 16 min., 2005, Thailand
A visual poem on loss and resurrection. There’s always a shining light on the island of smiles. All texts in the film are based on real documents.

Lie Beneath, Margaret Bong Chew Jen, 11 min., 2005, Malaysia
A film of divine attentions, Lie Beneath is a story of Willy, a 12 year-old boy who returns to his hometown where he meets his childhood friend, Fo You. Willy tries to seek attention from Fo You by inserting his own ideas of the 2004 tsunami tragedy onto what he saw on the TV.

Running time: 70 min.

10:30pm
Thai Experimental Film

Opportunities, Nittipong Tintubthai 10 min., 2005, Thailand
In this work the filmmaker captured the Thai national election that just took place in Bangkok, focusing on the day that the Thai Prime Minister declared his new campaign. Set against the his high promises to Thai people, the film shows how some poor citizens actually live in scenes shot just hours after the Prime Minister gave his last victorious speech.

Bangkok In The Evening, Sompot Chidgasornpongse 16 min, 2005, Thailand
Bangkok, the city where everything is moving and changing fast, where all activities happen concurrently and continuously, there is still a period in the evening when people and everything seem to stop, when the forward motion comes to a pause and everyone seems to leave the world behind. This film was shot in different angles on various locations around Bangkok, for 40 seconds a day, using 6 cameramen. The 16-minute film has no narrative, and might be considered a kind of requiem or a love serenade to Bangkok.

From Bangkok With Love, Olan Netrangsri, 8 min., Thailand/USA
A conversation between mother and son.

It Never Snows in Bangkok, Chalida Uabamrungjit, 6 min., 2003, Thailand/Japan
I am here so I am not there.
It will never happen.
And I knew it.

BEFORE, Samart Suwanarat 4 min, 2005, Thailand
Humans and humanity compose a society that comes from differences. But in that very difference, there are complicated links between some things that make endless causes and consequences. In this modern lifestyle, many factors keep us from consideration of relationships and the beauty of life. Today we do not see a clear disaster, but it is not too late to begin questioning before thing get worse.

Love Fest, Siwaraya Na Nakorn, 2.3 min., 2005, Thailand
Superstitions and horoscopes on Valentine's Day.

The Land, Supavadee Absuwan, 2.05 min., 2005, Thailand
Inspired by the everyday objects and ordinary things around us. Looking closely, we see that things are not as they seem.

Borderline, Noraset Vaisayakul, 6.10 min., 2004, Thailand/Netherlands
“I escape to my own space. I am trapped and lonely. I tried to escape from my own space, cross the border, crawl up to higher place and look for something better than down there...Never see anything I expected. I look over to the outside, see emptiness and jump to it.”

Space, Sathit Sattarasart, 7 min., 2005, Thailand
"If there were not enough spaces, I will come back inside" While the city is expanding, the actual spaces are decreased, but the inner spaces are increased. The video projects to the wall, depend on how long the walls is. I took photograph of townhouses, skies and abandon spaces around Bangkok. While residential buildings are expanding rapidly everyday, I put them in to single screen to show how fast they are growing, to juxtapose with our state of mind. As if the exterior or the physical space is decreased, the inner spaces between people are increased. (SS)

Dot Scape, Sutthirat Supaparinya, 7 min., 2005, Thailand
“The dotscape on a train journey from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. Turning annoying advertising dots on the railcar’s window into pretend scenery, enjoying dizzy patterns. My trip this time has posed a question, whether this is a limitation of enjoyment or an opportunity of new enjoyment in Thailand’s capitalist era. Can advertisement buy or change our local enjoyable scenery? Can I somehow enjoy dotted, advertised scenery?”

Doi Suthep, Montakarn Srijarernsak, 8.00 min., 2003, Thailand
The story of Doi Suthep through the eyes of a blind man.

Monks & Me, Monks from Information Computer Club, MBU, 7 min., 2003, Thailand
The computer club whose members are novices from area monasteries. This is their first short film.

Running time 76.45 min.

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