With low temperatures, Bangkok had its third showing for the Bangkok Open-Air Film Festival, or Krungthep Klang Plang, at Lan Khon Muang Plaza last week with Isaan language “The Undertaker” horror comedy, followed by a Jan 5 showing of the director’s cut of the classic “The Siam Renaissance” from 2004. This week, the screenings move to Phadung Krung Kasem Canal.

 

The first showing this week will be of Dutch drama “Sea Sparkle” (Zeedonk) from Domien Huyghe on Jan 11 about a girl looking for answers about a giant sea creature after the death of her father; the film took home the Best Film at Berlin International Film Festival. 

 

The next screening on Jan 12 will be a lot more familiar to Thai audiences, “RedLife”. The barnburner film made waves at the Tokyo Film Festival in 2023 before finally receiving a theatrical release at home. The film is the directorial debut from Ekalak Klunson and explores sex work and life in Bangkok slums.

 

The festival continues next week with two more films for the final showing of the Bangkok outdoor screenings at Lumphini Park. January 18 will see the showing of “Doi Boy”, another homegrown controversial sexwork thriller drama that screened to a sold-out theater at the 28th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) before receiving a Netflix release in Thailand. 

 

The screenings will conclude on Sunday Jan 19 with a showing of Patiparn Boontarig’s “Solids By the Seashore” exploring an relationship between a young woman Muslim woman’s relationship with a rebellious female artist.

 

While it’s definitely interesting to have an outdoor screening anywhere, Thailand has a special history with outdoor films, recently revisited in the “Once Upon a Star” movie that premiered on Netflix. Cinema was first introduced in Thailand by the traveling theater company S.G. Marchovsky, and due to its popularity, the company decided to take the show outdoors to make it more accessible and gave rise to pharma-theater troupes during the Cold War.

 

While outdoor cinema is booming, Thailand finds itself at a crossroads for micro-cinemas. Doc Club and Pub were forced to end movie screenings at their venue last month, posting a lengthy explanation of the reasons and stirring controversy over the regulations governing small cinemas. It has kicked off a nationwide debate about how the antiquated laws governing cinemas are keeping the Thailand film industry from growing. 

 

This is the third outdoor film festival from the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), in collaboration with the Thai Film Director Association, Happenings, and Thai Film Archives, sponsored by the Thailand Creative Culture Agency and the Department of Cultural Promotion.