Introduction to the Bangkok International Film Festival
The Bangkok International Film Festival (BKKIFF) has announced a lineup of 19 international titles for its main competition. This lineup includes the Cannes Camera d’Or winner "The President’s Cake" and the Horizons winner of Venice "On the Street". The Japanese beat "Hello" has been chosen as the final film. To mark the revival of the BKKIFF, its first edition since 2009, the Thai action horror film "Death Whisperer 3" received a gala premiere on Monday, September 29, at the Icon Cineconic Cinema by Major Cineplex in the Iconiam Shopping Mall in Bangkok.
Film Lineup and Festival Details
From September 27 to October 15, over 200 films will be shown, making it the largest film festival in the Southeast Asian region. The first two days of the festival focused on a retrospective of the experimental films and installations of the late German director and artist Harun Farocki. The main competition for international films is dominated by eight titles from Cannes, including the winner of the UN determined respect "The Mysterious View of the Flamingo" and other award winners like "A Poet", "I Only Rest in the Storm", and "Noise of the Fall". Another six titles were premiered in Venice, including "Agon", "Lost Country", and "Milk Teeth". Several cash prizes will be distributed, including the Bangkok Grand Prix Award worth $15,000.
Competition Titles
The competition titles include:
- "A Poet" (Col-Ger-Swe) directed by Imón Mesa Soto
- "Agon" (IT-Fr-US) directed by Giulio Bertelli
- "Amoeba" (Sing-Neth-Fr-SSS KOR) directed by Tan Siyou
- "Drylet" (GER-GEO) directed by Alexandre Koberidze
- "I Only Rest in the Storm" (FR-Port-Bra-Rome) directed by Pedro Pinho
- "Julian" (Bel-eth) directed by Cato Kusters
- "Last Night I Conquered the City of Thebes" (SP port) directed by Gabriel Azorin
- "Lost Country" (Japan-Fr-Malay-Ger) directed by Akio Fujimoto
- "Milk Teeth" (Rome-Fr-the-Greece-Bul) directed by Mihai Mincan
- "On the Street" (Mex) directed by David Pablos
- "Promised Heaven" (FR-Tun Falt) directed by Eriige First
- "Renoir" (Japan-Fr-Sing-Phil-Indo-Qat) directed by Chie Hayakawa
- "Noise of the Fall" (Ger) directed by Mascha Schilinski
- "Strange River" (SP-GER) directed by Jaume Claret Muxart
- "The Chronology of the Water" (US-Fr-Lat) directed by Kristen Stewart
- "The Mysterious View of the Flamingo" (Chile-fr) directed by Diego Céspedes
- "The President’s Cake" (Iraq) directed by Hasan Hadi
- "This City is a Battlefield" (Indo-Sing-Neth-Fr-Nor-Phil-Camb) directed by Mouly Surya
- "Homebound" (India) directed by Neraj Ghaywan
New Voices Competition
A separate New Voices competition showcases the first, second, and third features of Asian filmmakers. This includes "Hair, Paper, Water…" which won the filmmaker of Locarno Golden Leopard of the present, and Karlovy varies the winning "Sandstadt". The titles in the New Voices competition are:
- "Black Ox" (Japan-Tai-US) directed by Tetsuichiro Tsuta
- "Diamonds in the Sand" (Malay-Japan-Phil) directed by Janus Victoria
- "Hair, Paper, Water…" (Fr-Bel-Viet) directed by Truong Minh Quy, Nicolas Graux
- "Sandstadt" (Bang) directed by Mahde Hasan
- "Secret of a Mountain Snake" (India-Sri) directed by Nidhi Saxena
- "Skin of the Youth" (Vietging-Japan) directed by Ash Mayfair
- "The Fin" (S KOR) directed by Park Syeyoung
- "Tiger’s Pond" (India-sing) directed by Natesh Hegde
- "When the Night Stands Still" (IT-Phil) directed by Liryc Dela Cruz
Thai Panorama and Film Market
The Thai Panorama section comprises 12 titles, including the Grand Prix winner of the Cannes Critics’ Week "A Useful Spirit", recent theater publication "Attack 13", and Ivo Wejgaard "The Girl in the Feather Leather" which was shot in Thailand. The Talad Nang Film Market will run from October 1 to 4 in the Pinnacle Hall of Iconiam. Around 50 Thai companies will take part, including film studios, production service providers, post-production houses, and institutions. The market will also offer Asian filmmakers development opportunities. Around 10 Asian film projects by directors of the first and second feature and eight Thai projects are presented to a jury in pitching sessions.
Conclusion
The BKKIFF is supported by the Thailand’s Department for Cultural Promotion (DCP) under the Ministry of Culture and Thailand Creative Culture Agency (Thaacca). Donsaron Kovitvaniycha, a member of the Thacca Unter Committee, acts as director and artistic director of the BKKIFF Festival, while Pimpaka Towira is together with Yuni Hadi and Jerome Paillard as director and consultant of Asian Project Pitching. Hirokazu Kore-eda has begun filming his sci-fi feature "Sheep in the Box".
