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ไทยดราก้อน
http://www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com/eng/p...7e-275fb4dc165d
Thai Dragons (2008)
In the form of Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Thailand has one of the most appealing film makers/artists who apparently jumps back and forth playfully between art and cinema. But Thailand has more of such talents. Not yet so famous, but we might as well start practising their names: Jakrawal Nilthamrong, Nitipong Thinthupthai, Thunska Pansittivorakul, Uruphong Raksasad and Thaweesak Srithongdee.
By the way, they call each other Joe, Poon, Jack etc.

A Voyage of Foreteller - ND (IFFR 2008)
Jakrawal Nilthamrong จักรวาล นิลธำรงค์

Basically a preliminary study for a dream to film. A very white man withdraws into a jungle hut by a river. A boy once saw his future in him.

Salutary water in a tropical forest. A white man, a very white man (Philip McCaffrey) wades through the water. Once a child saw its future in him. And the white man wants to come to terms with loneliness and so he builds himself a hut in the jungle. He wants to rule over his habits and experience an orgasm for once.

Krasob - ND (IFFR 2008)
Nitipong Thinthupthai นิติพงศ์ ถิ่นทัพไทย

It seems idyllic: Thai children playing with a bag of rice as a boxing bag. But they know they can also kick each other.

A patient observation. A group of children are playing with a krasob, a sack of rice on a pole. The krasob serves to practise Thai boxing, but they also practise on each other. Because the world of small Thai children is already so hard. Not as sweet as it looks, but beautiful all the same.

Middle-Earth (Mutchim Lok) - ND (IFFR 2008)
Thunska Pansittivorakul ธัญสก พันสิทธิวรกุล

A white dream of a gay film maker. Two naked men on a white sofa. Yet it remains in the imagination.

Pansittivorakul is the most outspoken gay film maker in Thailand. Or in the whole of Southeast Asia, you could say. The fact that last year he received a Silpathorn Award, an official state prize for artists, was one of the few encouraging events in a country with a military regime and unpredictable censorship. The film is an ode to the male body. Two naked men on a white sofa. And a film maker who restrains himself.

The Planet - ND (IFFR 2008)
Uruphong Raksasad อุรุพงศ์ รักษาสัตย์

Bizarre animation film that is ironically described as a portrayal of the landscape of the planet Earth. But then very different from the one we know.

The cinematographer made a great impression with a lyrical realistic first film and then it becomes apparent that he is capable of making a whimsical innovative animation. Ironically described as the landscape of the planet Earth. But then very different from how we know our planet. Also in this programme, The Rocket, that shows the realistic side of the maker.

The Rocket - ND (IFFR 2008)
Uruphong Raksasad อุรุพงศ์ รักษาสัตย์

Farmers shoot homemade rockets. Just keep praying. The maker allows us to share his enjoyment.

This film maker is represented in this programme with two very different films. And in both he reveals himself to be a clever, ironic and original film maker. His work The Planet is surrealist animation and this one, The Rocket, is a humorous, realistic document. Farmers shoot homemade rockets. Let's keep our fingers crossed. The maker enjoys it and allows us to do so as well.

Nimit (Meteorites) - ND (IFFR 2008)
Apichatpong Weerasethakul อภิชาติพงศ์ วีระเศรษฐกุล

Cabin had to become a film for the King of Thailand, but the maker filmed him at home in his home village. 'If the king is good, he has to be good everywhere,' he must have thought.

Short film made as part of a series of nine by various directors to mark the 80th birthday of the King of Thailand. The contribution by Apichatpong Weerasethakul shows the goodness of the ruler by showing the everyday life of his family in Bangkok and in the province Khon Kaen. This contribution was a dissonant within the project because of its realistic portrayal of ordinary life, but you could also say that Weerasethakul managed to find the right tone within the commission as well.

Hero - ND (IFFR 2008)
Thaweesak Srithongdee ทวีศักดิ์ ศรีทองดี (โลเล)

Crooks, criminals and dictators can also be heroes in the ironic approach of the artist. Or maybe everything just blends together.

A video - that was originally made for an installation - comprises shots of iconic portraits. Computer manipulation is used to distort them, occasionally to comic effect. Scoundrels, criminals and dictators can also be heroes in the ironic approach of Thaweesak Srithongdee. Or maybe everything gets mixed up.