Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Communication Arts will hold two days of film screenings in Bangkok later this week, to celebrate the faculty’s sixtieth anniversary. The 60th Year (สดุดีปีจอ) includes a screening of Breaking the Cycle (อำนาจ ศรัทธา อนาคต) on 27th February, followed by a Q&A with its directors Aekaphong Saransate and Thanakrit Duangmaneeporn. Come and See (เอหิปัสสิโก) will be shown on the next day, followed by a talk by director Nottapon Boonprakob.
Both films are documentaries that challenge established institutions, and both attracted controversy in the process. Charges of sedition were filed against the makers of Breaking the Cycle, as their film—accurately and objectively—described the 2014 coup as undemocratic. When Nottapon submitted Come and See to the censorship board, they explained that they had some reservations about it. Would he mind if they rejected the film, they asked. But the Thai Film Director Association publicised the case online, and—presumably to avoid negative publicity—the censors told Nottapon that they no longer had a problem with the film.
Both films are documentaries that challenge established institutions, and both attracted controversy in the process. Charges of sedition were filed against the makers of Breaking the Cycle, as their film—accurately and objectively—described the 2014 coup as undemocratic. When Nottapon submitted Come and See to the censorship board, they explained that they had some reservations about it. Would he mind if they rejected the film, they asked. But the Thai Film Director Association publicised the case online, and—presumably to avoid negative publicity—the censors told Nottapon that they no longer had a problem with the film.
Breaking the Cycle
Breaking the Cycle is a fly-on-the-wall account of the Future Forward party, which was dissolved by the Constitutional Court in 2020. (Future Forward was founded as a progressive alternative to military dictatorship. The party came third in the 2019 election, after a wave of support for its charismatic leader, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, though he was disqualified as an MP by the Constitutional Court.)
The film begins in 2014 with Thanathorn’s determination to end the vicious cycle of military coups that has characterised Thailand’s modern political history. This mission gives the film its title, and Future Forward co-founder Piyabutr Saengkanokkul asks: “Why is Thailand stuck in this cycle of coups?” The documentary benefits from its extensive access to every senior figure within Future Forward. The directors were even able to film Thanathorn as he reacted to the guilty verdicts being delivered by the Constitutional Court.
The documentary ends with the caption “THE CYCLE CONTINUES”, which is sadly accurate: Future Forward’s successor, Move Forward, was dissolved by the Constitutional Court last year despite winning the 2023 election. The movement’s third incarnation, the People’s Party, will need a landslide victory in the next election to challenge the current pro-military coalition led by Pheu Thai.
Breaking the Cycle went on general release last year. It was later shown at the Thai Film Archive in Salaya, as part of the Lost and Longing (แด่วันคืนที่สูญหาย) season. It was also screened at A.E.Y. Space in Songkla, and at the Bangsaen Film Festival at Burapha University. It was part of the Hits Me Movies... One More Time programme at House Samyan in Bangkok, and it was screened last week at Thammasat University.
The film begins in 2014 with Thanathorn’s determination to end the vicious cycle of military coups that has characterised Thailand’s modern political history. This mission gives the film its title, and Future Forward co-founder Piyabutr Saengkanokkul asks: “Why is Thailand stuck in this cycle of coups?” The documentary benefits from its extensive access to every senior figure within Future Forward. The directors were even able to film Thanathorn as he reacted to the guilty verdicts being delivered by the Constitutional Court.
The documentary ends with the caption “THE CYCLE CONTINUES”, which is sadly accurate: Future Forward’s successor, Move Forward, was dissolved by the Constitutional Court last year despite winning the 2023 election. The movement’s third incarnation, the People’s Party, will need a landslide victory in the next election to challenge the current pro-military coalition led by Pheu Thai.
Breaking the Cycle went on general release last year. It was later shown at the Thai Film Archive in Salaya, as part of the Lost and Longing (แด่วันคืนที่สูญหาย) season. It was also screened at A.E.Y. Space in Songkla, and at the Bangsaen Film Festival at Burapha University. It was part of the Hits Me Movies... One More Time programme at House Samyan in Bangkok, and it was screened last week at Thammasat University.
Come and See
Come and See examines the practices of the Wat Phra Dhammakaya temple complex (in Pathum Thani province, near Bangkok) and its former abbot, Dhammajayo, who has long been suspected of money laundering. (Dhammakaya is a Buddhist sect recognised by the Sangha Supreme Council, though it closely resembles a cult. Come and See interviews both current devotees and disaffected former members of the organisation.)
The Dhammakaya complex itself is only twenty years old, and its design is inherently cinematic. The enormous Cetiya temple resembles a golden UFO, and temple ceremonies are conducted on an epic scale, with tens of thousands of monks and worshippers arranged with geometric precision. The temple cooperated with Nottapon, though his access was limited. Come and See doesn’t investigate the allegations against Dhammajayo, though it does provide extensive coverage of the 2016 DSI raid on the temple and Dhammajayo’s subsequent disappearance.
One of the film’s interviewees, a Buddhist scholar, hits the nail on the head when he argues that the long-running Dhammakaya scandal is not an anomaly; rather, Dhammakaya is simply a more extreme version of contemporary Thai Buddhism, which has become increasingly capitalist. Come and See also hints at the institutional corruption and hidden networks of influence that characterise the modern Thai state.
The Dhammakaya complex itself is only twenty years old, and its design is inherently cinematic. The enormous Cetiya temple resembles a golden UFO, and temple ceremonies are conducted on an epic scale, with tens of thousands of monks and worshippers arranged with geometric precision. The temple cooperated with Nottapon, though his access was limited. Come and See doesn’t investigate the allegations against Dhammajayo, though it does provide extensive coverage of the 2016 DSI raid on the temple and Dhammajayo’s subsequent disappearance.
One of the film’s interviewees, a Buddhist scholar, hits the nail on the head when he argues that the long-running Dhammakaya scandal is not an anomaly; rather, Dhammakaya is simply a more extreme version of contemporary Thai Buddhism, which has become increasingly capitalist. Come and See also hints at the institutional corruption and hidden networks of influence that characterise the modern Thai state.