This Feb 25-Mar 5 sees the long-awaited return of the Bangkok Underground Film Festival, a four-day event dedicated to showcasing the works of indepedent, DIY and first-time filmmakers, as well as celebrating cinema outside of the mainstream. 

 

The festival returns for its second year, having been postponed from last November, and this time features 39 short films, three features and 21 video art works from 22 countries to be screened across three alternative art venues around the city.

 

Feb 25 and 26 will be held at brand new creative village Arunkarn (Soi Don Kuson 1), Mar 4 at Bridge Art Space (Charoenkrung Soi 51) and Mar 5 at Gallery Ver (Narathiwat Ratchanakarin Soi 22). 

 

This year's event places a stronger focus on video art, feature films and experimental works, with many of the selections exploring themes like urbanism, dystopia, satire, human expression and authoritarianism. 

 

Here's a closer look at some of the highlights: 

 

 

 

Set against the backdrop of contemporary Sydney, this non-linear video art work explores modern living and its absurd achetypes and bad aesthetics.

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Slate by Khin Warso (Myanmar)
 

A beautifully simple documentary which follows the archaic process of miners in Burma extracting rocks with hand tools, in order to later be used in schools by students as slates for writing. 

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Fat Boy Never Slim by Sorayos Prapapan (Thailand)

A light-hearted look at national service in Thailand, and the various loopholes that exist for those who wish to avoid it, that exposes the scale of corruption  and military abuse that exists in the system. 

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My Buddha is Punk by Andreas Hartmann (Germany)

The story of Kyaw Kyaw, the lead singer of the Burmese punk band Rebel Riot and activist agaisnt authoritarianism, racism and the persecution of ethnic minorities in Myanmar, who spreads the message that punk music and Buddhism can exist in harmony. 

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A cross-cultural Arabic-French production examining stories of corruption and how they have become universally relatable occurances around the world. 

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For the full schedule of the films, visit www.bangkokundergroundcinema.com