The inaugural Borderless Film Festival (เทศกาลภาพยนตร์ไร้พรมแดน) runs from 31st July to 3rd August at the former central bus terminal (no. 1) in Khon Kaen. The festival will begin with The Classic on its opening day, a programme of historical documentaries — including Lumière!, Tongpan (ทองปาน), and a propaganda film about Sarit Thanarat — curated by Berng Nang Club.
Lumière!
Lumière! is a compilation of 114 meticulously restored short films by the Lumière brothers. Narrated by Thierry Frémaux, it’s similar to the earlier documentary The Lumière Brothers’ First Films, a compilation of eighty-five Lumière films narrated by Bertrand Tavernier. In both compilations, the short films are arranged thematically rather than chronologically.
Lumière! has previously been shown at Museum Siam, Doc Club and Pub, and Alliance Française. It was given an international theatrical release in 2017, though it has been available on DVD and blu-ray in France since 2015.
Lumière! has previously been shown at Museum Siam, Doc Club and Pub, and Alliance Française. It was given an international theatrical release in 2017, though it has been available on DVD and blu-ray in France since 2015.
Tongpan
Tongpan is a realistic dramatisation of a seminar that took place in 1975, which was organised to debate the construction of the Pa Mong dam on the Mekong river. The eponymous central character is a farmer who lost his land due to a previous dam. (Ultimately, the Pa Mong project was abandoned, though this was a Pyrrhic victory for environmental campaigners, as dozens of hydroelectric dams are currently under construction.)
Tongpan was a product of the brief period of political freedom following the end of military rule in 1973, though by the time filming had been completed in 1977, another junta had seized power, and the film was banned. Its prologue captures the optimism of 1973 (“A military junta fled into exile”), though this is contrasted by an epilogue that describes the return of military rule (“shortly after the shooting of this film, a violent coup d’etat of a magnitude never before seen in Thailand brought an end to Thailand’s three-year experiment with democracy”).
Tongpan has previously been shown at Noir Row Art Space, Cinema Oasis, Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, and the Thai Film Archive. It was included alongside Lumière! in last year’s Fiction/Nonfiction season.
Tongpan was a product of the brief period of political freedom following the end of military rule in 1973, though by the time filming had been completed in 1977, another junta had seized power, and the film was banned. Its prologue captures the optimism of 1973 (“A military junta fled into exile”), though this is contrasted by an epilogue that describes the return of military rule (“shortly after the shooting of this film, a violent coup d’etat of a magnitude never before seen in Thailand brought an end to Thailand’s three-year experiment with democracy”).
Tongpan has previously been shown at Noir Row Art Space, Cinema Oasis, Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, and the Thai Film Archive. It was included alongside Lumière! in last year’s Fiction/Nonfiction season.
Sarit Thanarat
The Sarit newsreel — การปฏิบัติหน้าที่เพื่อประเทศชาติในตำแหน่งหัวหน้ารัฐบาลและผู้นำทางทหาร
จนถึงล้มป่วยและอสัญกรรมของ ฯพณฯ จอมพลสฤษดิ์ ธนะรัชต์ (‘Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat performing duties for the country as the head of government and military leader until his illness and death’) — is a fascinating example of Cold War state propaganda. At the time of its original release, it would have provided a counter-narrative to the exposés of the dictator’s decadence and corruption that were rushed into print after his death.
The film depicts Sarit as a PM dedicated to his people, especially in Isan, where he is seen working to alleviate poverty. He is portrayed as a tireless leader, to the extent that he became ill through overwork, and the film ends with scenes of national mourning following his state funeral.
The film depicts Sarit as a PM dedicated to his people, especially in Isan, where he is seen working to alleviate poverty. He is portrayed as a tireless leader, to the extent that he became ill through overwork, and the film ends with scenes of national mourning following his state funeral.
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