Anocha Suwichakornpong packs her commentary on Thai political instability into a small personal story about the inner life of a paralysed boy. She just about made it past the censors.
Elevator Pitch
'A boy, who after a serious accident is paralysed from the waist down, is in conflict with his father. His personal story is a metaphor for the current situation in Thailand, which is characterised by its political and social unrest and instability.'
Cycle
'Four years ago the Thai army staged a coup. The democratically chosen premier Thaksin was thrown out of the country and replaced by a military leader. The conflict between the father and son mirrors the conflict between between those in power and the citizens of my country. The boy goes through a gradual change and learns to deal with his handicap. Thailand is also in a period of change. Actually the whole universe is in constant change. Everything and everyone is in a constant cycle of birth, growth, decay, death and rebirth. I wanted to emphasise the idea of repetition in the editing. The first rough cut was linear, but when I took a better look at the material another pattern came through. I then decided to take out the chronological line and make the film more associative and repetitive.'
Thailand
'At a screening in Thailand the references to the political situation will be clearly recognised. That didn't work out so well at a screening in Pusan in South Korea. I wonder if the Rotterdam audience will also see them. I was forced to present my message in such a way by the censors. When age limits were introduced for cinema goers, we hoped that would also prevent films from being forbidden, but since then at least one film has been forbidden. It seemed that would happen to my film too because of the masturbation scene, but finally it was found suitable for people above twenty years of age.'
The First Time
'The production process lasted much longer than I expected; definitely in comparison with the short films I'd made before. Now that the film is finally ready after three years, I also notice that all the visits to international festivals is much more intensive. A short film has a short life, you quickly move on to the next project. A feature film stays with you forever.'
Bright Future
'At CineMart (the international co-production market of the festival, ed.) I'm pitching my next feature film By the Time It Gets Dark. It's the life story of a factory worker who is always changing jobs. I hope to get a financial contribution from the Ministry of Culture. The government has recently made 10 million dollars available for film. Unfortunately with everything in my country there's always a 'but'. Among independent film makers the worry is that the whole lot will be used to make a nationalistic epic about veteran film maker Prince Chatrichalerm Yukol. The worst case scenario is that this government subsidy is just an excuse to support a propaganda film.
Mundane History (TG) - Anocha Suwichakornpong
Mon 1st 13.30 PA3, Wed 3rd 13.30 PA3, Sat 6th 21.30 PA4