Hungry Ghosts   

38th International Film Festival Rotterdam



Introduction to IFFR 2009 theme section HUNGRY GHOSTS
Telling ghosts stories seem to be popular in any culture. So in that sense it is ghosts stories that are holding the world and humanity together. But as many cultures and languages there are, there seems to be as many ghosts. Or is it the stories that differ so much and not even the ghosts themselves? For a non believer that would not make much difference, but for the believer it is all the world. So big is the difference between one ghost story to another, one ghost movie to another one.

The upcoming edition of Rotterdam (21 January - 1 February 2009) will bring a program and an exhibition from the world where doubts about ghosts do not exist. That world is to be found in Asia and in South East Asia especially. The believe in ghosts is there so real that the horror movies coming from it, maybe should not be labeled as fantasy genre anymore.

The specific quality of Southeast Asian horror movies is the fact that the people who make them and the people who watch them actually believe in ghosts - not necessarily the ghosts on the screen, but the ghosts in their daily lives, or from childhood experiences, or from a story they've been told.

There is a huge and still growing production of horror movies in Asia and some have such thrilling stories that they have been remade in the West, The Hollywood remakes always change the ending, and the ghost is either conquered or gone, and there's a hope at the end, but if you believe in ghosts, they don't go away, and at best you can only live in peace with them.

The program is still in the making, but it will contain a variety of movies from horror genre movies to movies that were made by directors with a more art house background. From Thailand there will be 4bia (Phobia, watch the trailer on YouTube here) that is made by the best of horror talent in the country Youngyooth Thongkonthun, Banjong Pisanthanakun, Parkpoom Wongpoom & Paween Purikitpanya and also The Coffin by Echachai Uekrongtham (watch the trailer on YouTube here). Indonesia is making a mountain of horror films a year but the most recent work of festival veteran Garin Nugroho Under the Tree is a wonderful evocation of the spirits of Bali.

Central in quite e number of horror movies is the haunted house. As an exhibition the program will contain a real Haunted House, with who knows real ghosts. Several artists have been asked, among them Wisit Sasanatieng, Kurosawa Kiyoshi and Riri Riza, to convert a room in the exhibition building into there vision of the house of the spirits.

The real ghost stories, the actual story telling, will also get a place in the program. So many things happen on the sets of ghost movies that they will have to be told.