Bangkok film fest celebrates...tourism?

Bangkok film fest celebrates...tourism?

Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Bangkok

Among the film industry of Indonesia, a poor neighboring country
whose international film festival is struggling with funding and
organization, the two-week festival in Bangkok quickly generated
envy.

The annual festival held in January was very well organized
and very well funded by that government, in this case the Tourism
Authority of Thailand (TAT).

While its budget was discreet, it was large enough to enable
the organizers to hire a group of professional festival film
managers from California to arrange the event.

The venues selected to host the festival were sophisticated
and large, with an 100,000-seat capacity. The 180 movies screened
were relatively new releases and covered a wonderful, broad range
of films. Some 160 journalists from around the globe were flown
to Bangkok to cover the event, and the festival could also afford
to invite international stars and filmmakers to attend.

Actors in attendance ranged from B-movie actors like Jean
Claude Van Damme (apparently, a regular visitor to Bangkok), to
Oscar winner Michael Douglas, character actor Jeremy Irons, lady
of a thousand masks Miranda Richardson, and up and coming actors
Lucy Punch and Gerard Butler.

The audience also got to meet and sometimes enter into
discussion with top-notch filmmakers such as Wong Karwai, Olivier
Assayas, Joel Schumacher and Oliver Stone.

Certainly, the Thai government wanted the film festival -- its
third -- to be a world-class event, the Cannes of Asia.

However, something important was missing at the festival: The
permeating aura of cinematic experience, the rabid enthusiasm of
film buffs and interaction between filmmakers.

We got all that at the Jakarta International Film Festival
(JIFFest), despite all its shortcomings as to venues and
technicalities.

At the Bangkok International Film Festival, however, one could
not avoid the impression that it was aimed at luring more
tourists and buyers to the country than celebrating the world of
cinema.

The parties and award ceremony were also too formal and too
touristy, overwhelmed by cultural performances and exhibitions.

"I feel more like I'm at a government ceremony than at a film
festival," said Indonesian documentarian Lexy Rambadetta at the
Golden Kinaree Awards.

Aside from giving them to rising filmmakers, the awards were
handed to virtually every international filmmaker who managed to
come to the festival.

Joel Schumacher, for instance, received the lifetime
achievement award, even though his last few films, including the
Phantom of the Opera, were flops and received lukewarm critique.

Local Thai filmmakers appeared not to be very amused with the
festival arrangements, either.

"The government is more interested in tourism. They're
interested in holding a festival. But the point is, you can host
the most amazing festival, but you need to have products," said
director/producer Mona Nahm, whose latest work The Remaker was
screened at the festival.

The problem with the government, she said, was that they are
more interested in luring foreign filmmakers to shoot films and
undertake post-production in Thailand than honing and funding
local talents.

Thailand has at least four post-production companies working
on projects from other countries, including Indonesia, and a vast
tract of land has been provided as a shooting location.

Local filmmakers, however, continue to struggle to obtain
funding, and if their films make it to the silver screen, the
cinemas give only three days to test the film. The screening
period will be extended if there are enough viewers, but if not,
the film's out. Thus, the theaters are filled only with
blockbusters.

"There are about 1,200 theaters all over the country, with a
ticket price of around US$2.40. We hardly get anything from the
screening," said director Sananjit Bangsaphan of Hit Man File.

With the addition of Hollywood's stranglehold on Thailand's
cinemas and the exorbitant tax for film material, the situation
has degraded the Thai film industry's morale.

"The past two years show a good trend, however. In 2003, 150
films came out, with everyone making films all over, but the
quality dropped. There were only a few good ones that made money
at the theaters. The rest went straight to video," said Nahm.

"In the past year, 50 films were released, but were so much
better in quality."

It could be said that generally, Thai films are more advanced
and enjoyable than, say, most Indonesian films. Their horror
movies are incredibly scary, such as The Shutter, while comedies
like Iron Ladies are hilarious and twisted, and art-house films
are still enjoyable and unpretentious, like Last Life in
Universe.

Yet, these films are still struggling to find a niche in local
cinemas.

The other concern for local filmmakers is the "talent drain"
of good crews from the industry, as they prefer to work with
foreign filmmakers shooting in Thailand at better pay.

"...Thais can't pay each other well because we don't have much
money. The crew and labor become expensive. (So) We end up making
films for the local market only. There's no guarantee that we can
sell (our films) to foreigners. When people find out we only sell
in Thailand, they invest less money. Investing less money means
we make less money," said Adirek Wattaleela, producer of Bangkok
Dangerous and 2001 Cannes nominee for Tears of the Black Tiger.

Therefore, said Wattaleela, the Bangkok International Film
Festival was only suitable for TAT's tourism aims, and does not
do much for the local film industry.

Local filmmakers also objected to the recruitment of
foreigners to organize the event.

Festival executive director Craig Prater was very careful in
his response on this issue: "I'm sure the TAT wants to make sure
this festival has a high quality. We've done this for 20 years.
Maybe in the near future they won't need us, which is great. This
festival will help local people gain experience."

Meanwhile, director Jira Maligool of Iron Ladies and Mekhong
Full Moon Party tried to look for the silver lining, and said the
festival was good for educating local viewers.

"The audience get to see films other than the mainstream, and
allows foreigners to see ours. Maybe we'll only see the benefits
of this festival in the long run, but it's a good start."