Chatchawan Thongchan directed one of the best Thai short films of the past few years, From Forest to City (อรัญนคร). His latest film is Happy New Year, Stranger (สวัสดีปีใหม่ คนไม่รู้จัก), a timely and powerful documentary about the plight of lèse-majesté prisoners and the campaign to quash their convictions.
The film opens with footage from 8th November 2020, when riot police fired tear gas to prevent demonstrators entering the Grand Palace to deliver an open letter addressed to the King. In a voiceover, Chatchawan explains that it was this protest movement that led to his political awakening: “This is where my political journey began... there were protests happening in 2020. That’s when I started to pay attention”.
This realisation of political consciousness is known in Thai as ta sawang, and several directors — Pen-ek Ratanaruang, Yuthlert Sippapak, Chulayarnnon Siriphol, Thunska Pansittivorakul, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, and Nontawat Numbenchapol — discussed their ta sawang moments in interviews for Thai Cinema Uncensored. But in the self-reflexive Happy New Year, Stranger Chatchawan does something unique: he uses the film to articulate his own personal questions about politics and the monarchy.
The film opens with footage from 8th November 2020, when riot police fired tear gas to prevent demonstrators entering the Grand Palace to deliver an open letter addressed to the King. In a voiceover, Chatchawan explains that it was this protest movement that led to his political awakening: “This is where my political journey began... there were protests happening in 2020. That’s when I started to pay attention”.
This realisation of political consciousness is known in Thai as ta sawang, and several directors — Pen-ek Ratanaruang, Yuthlert Sippapak, Chulayarnnon Siriphol, Thunska Pansittivorakul, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, and Nontawat Numbenchapol — discussed their ta sawang moments in interviews for Thai Cinema Uncensored. But in the self-reflexive Happy New Year, Stranger Chatchawan does something unique: he uses the film to articulate his own personal questions about politics and the monarchy.
Most of the material in Happy New Year, Stranger was shot last year, at a vigil outside parliament calling for an amnesty for lèse-majesté charges, and at a New Year’s Eve street party outside Bangkok Remand Prison held in solidarity with lèse-majesté convicts detained there. At both events, live music was played, and in his director’s statement, Chatchawan describes these scenes as “a gift for political prisoners behind bars, allowing them to feel a sense of freedom.”
This coming together of activists and artists to support prisoners charged with lèse-majesté was also a key feature of Chatchawan’s similar short film To a Friend I Have Never Met (แด่เพื่อนที่ไม่รู้จัก), which was released on New Year’s Eve and was dedicated to political prisoners. There are also parallels with Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s short film Ashes, which — like Happy New Year, Stranger — ends with a firework display.
Finally, Happy New Year, Stranger is an especially topical film, though for an unfortunate reason: a bill proposing amnesty for lèse-majesté cases was rejected by parliament yesterday, as expected. A People’s Party bill calling for a case-by-case amnesty review was also rejected. Three amnesty bills were passed, though each of them explicitly states that those charged with lèse-majesté are not eligible for consideration.
Previous documentaries dealing directly with lèse-majesté cases include 112 News from Heaven, The Letter from Silence (จดหมายจากความเงียบ), Hungry for Freedom, We Need to Talk About อานนท์ (‘we need to talk about Arnon’), and The Cost of Freedom. (Thai Cinema Uncensored discusses the impact of the lèse-majesté law on Thai filmmakers, and their responses to it.)
This coming together of activists and artists to support prisoners charged with lèse-majesté was also a key feature of Chatchawan’s similar short film To a Friend I Have Never Met (แด่เพื่อนที่ไม่รู้จัก), which was released on New Year’s Eve and was dedicated to political prisoners. There are also parallels with Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s short film Ashes, which — like Happy New Year, Stranger — ends with a firework display.
Finally, Happy New Year, Stranger is an especially topical film, though for an unfortunate reason: a bill proposing amnesty for lèse-majesté cases was rejected by parliament yesterday, as expected. A People’s Party bill calling for a case-by-case amnesty review was also rejected. Three amnesty bills were passed, though each of them explicitly states that those charged with lèse-majesté are not eligible for consideration.
Previous documentaries dealing directly with lèse-majesté cases include 112 News from Heaven, The Letter from Silence (จดหมายจากความเงียบ), Hungry for Freedom, We Need to Talk About อานนท์ (‘we need to talk about Arnon’), and The Cost of Freedom. (Thai Cinema Uncensored discusses the impact of the lèse-majesté law on Thai filmmakers, and their responses to it.)
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