JANUARY
Survival Games
B-Floor Theatre has had a great 2013, putting on the most engaging, stimulating and daring plays in town. It all kicked off with a witty and nerdy look at parasites in the Thai countryside that mixed contemporary dance, crowd interaction, physical theater, documentary and traditional puppetry.
The Vaccines
The scruffy Brit-rockers brought their second studio album, Coming of Age, to Moonstar Studio, and delivered a brilliant, high-energy performance. The Rubens were not bad either and Abhisit showed up.
Nua Mek 2
The finale of the TV series about a dead prime minister whose body is controlled by a necromancer is cancelled. Social media outrage ensues.
Siam Center
The long-standing mall finally reopened with scores of Thai designers, an industrial-chic food court and gimmicky “interactive” experiences that don’t really work. Particularly of note is The Selected, a shop stocked with local brands like Container, Timo, Gla and Laksmi Mantra.
Magnum Café
Although part of the Siam Center redesign, the ice-cream parlor deserves its own entry. In fact, judging by the Ananda-inspired Magnum selfies craze that ensued, you’d be forgiven for thinking this was the most important restaurant opening of the year.
Snoop Lion
We’ve lost track of what Snoop Dogg calls himself these days, nor do we really care. His concert at the Together Festival was a letdown, with French duo Justice stealing the show.
Le Derriere
Q Bar restored a dose of intimacy to Soi 11 with this art nouveau absinthe bar mixing velvet sofas and crumbling walls.
Your Heart For My Number
Luk Thung singer Yinglee's hit was as big as they get: 73 million views.
FEBRUARY
Vogue
The BTS ads, the huge launch party, the months of anticipation, Vogue almost set itself up to be a letdown. Not only was the inaugural issue’s cover plain weird, but they followed it up with other monstrosities such as the photoshopped Naomi Campbell debacle.
“And you’re happy to pay B380 for a rocket salad?”
Chef Duangporn “Bo” Songsiva, of Bo.lan, who won Asia’s Best Female Chef award from Veuve Cliquot, is tired of people complaining about expensive Thai food.
“People love each other less because of the internet.”
Sawika “Pinky” Chaidej, who was embroiled in a sex scandal as she was starring in the steamy Jan Dara movie.
BUKRUK
The Bukruk Street Art Festival showcased some of the most exciting and accessible art this city has ever known, from four-story-tall graffiti around Ratchatewi to a moody exhibition inside BACC. It was also Mamafaka’s crowning moment, alongside Alex Face and P.7. Later in the year, Mamafaka tragically drowned in Phuket, at the age of 34.
B2.2 trillion
Cost of the government’s new infrastructure projects, which would come under heavy criticism as the year rumbled on.
Jan Dara 2
The second and final installment of ML Bhandewanop Devakul’s remake of the erotically-charged novel (and film) Jan Dara 2 was somehow even worse than part 1. Mario Maurer’s mustache certainly didn’t help.
Fingering
A tomboy on a quest to better pleasure her partner. Starring internet idol Emmy Dewa.
“Thai fashion labels are run by rich kids who oversee both the design and business.”
Kullawit “Ford” Laosuksri, who quit Elle for the launch of Vogue Thailand, on the state of Thailand’s fashion world.
Paramore
They shot to global fame for their song “Decode” on the Twilight soundtrack, which might explain why no one at BK actually went to see them.
Hotel Art Fair
Bangkok’s best galleries took over the Maduzi hotel for two short days, exhibiting their art in the luxuriously decorated rooms. Suitably boozy, the launch party mixed the arty and the hiso, reminding the latter of just how cool art can be.
Craft Beer’s Second Wave
Technically, Beervana landed in Bangkok in 2012. But early 2013 saw the craft beer trend spreading to just about everywhere, and diversifying, with beer pairing dinners at Little Beast, draft beer from Brewerkz landing at Smith and Hopsession bringing in Danish brews Mikkeler, Bogedal and mead.
Thee Oh Sees
The first of many excellent gigs put on by the Popscene boys this year.
Chef’s Tables
Park Society, Beaulieu, Smith, Water Library—one of the big new trends for 2013 was eating in the chef’s kitchen.
MARCH
MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra
The incumbent is reelected governor, beating Police General Pongsapat Pongcharoen by 1,254,111 votes to 1,074,677, despite exit polls that announced just the opposite. DJ Suharit (Suharit Siamwalla) captured the imaginations of Bangkok’s cool kids but not their votes.
เดี่ยว 10
Season 10 of comedian Nose Udom's one-man show made the booking system blow up. It was sold out within hours.
Independent Coffee Shops
Another trend that blossomed in 2012 and went into overdrive in 2013 with Casa Lapin, Ceresia and One Ounce for Onion all notable openings.
25
Years since Coca-Cola was last the number 1 soft drink in Thailand, a spot it reclaimed in February thanks to the Est-Pepsi feud.
63%
Voter turnout for the gubernatorial election, a 12 point improvement over the 2009 election.
0
Days “Mu Ham” is sentenced to jail for ramming his Mercedes into a bus stop, killing one woman and injuring two others.
Appia
Jarret Wrisley of Soul Food Mahanakorn on Thonglor teams up with Chef Paolo Vitaletti to open a trattoria doing “Roman-style family recipes." The result is one of the best openings of 2013.
Top Tables
And this year’s winners are, in order, Nahm, Le Beaulieu, Quince, The Water Library Thonglor, Bo.lan, Eat Me, Gaggan, Mugendai, Issaya and Supanniga.
Paste
Chef couple Bongkoch Satongun and Jason Baily dare to bring their personal touch to Thai cuisine, making for tasty and delicate results.
9am-4pm
Time during which the MRT shut down escalators to save energy as temperatures soared and Burma struggled to keep up with its neighbor’s skyrocketing gas consumption. Global warming is upon us, and it is sticky.
APRIL
Tim Hetherington: Infidel
A combination of documentary footage and photographs from the Oscar-nominated filmmaker, who was killed in a mortar attack in Libya in 2011. A haunting exhibition that was beautifully set up, it also coincided with the WTF Festival, a smashing two-day party commemorating the bar-slash-gallery’s three-year anniversary.
Boundary
After premiering at the Berlin Film Festival last year and being selected as the opening movie for our own Salaya Documentary Festival, Boundary is the latest film to get banned and then censored. Director Nontawat Numbenchapol is made to mute some dialogue before it can finally be screened.
Opposite Mess Hall
There were pop-ups, the WTF birthday nibbles and then finally Jess Barnes, having quit Quince, opened his little bar-slash-restaurant for real. It was packed from day one, but BK still wrote about its awesomeness again and again and again before concluding in the actual review, “Yeah, it’s really good, but kinda pricey.” Opposite probably changed dining in Bangkok forever, though. Not only is there now a burger truck in Soi 38 (Daniel Thaiger), but these are the places Bangkokians are excited about, not the latest swanky restaurant with sexy waitresses and three different foie gras appetizers.
Sol’s New Soul
Opened a few years ago, the intimate Sol Space (entry is usually limited to 150 tickets) suddenly had a revival in 2013, hosting experimental Berlin-based electro musician Kangding Ray in January, Dirty Beaches in February to Japanese noise-rock provocateurs Melt Banana in April.
“I was shocked.”
Pongsathorn “Puak” Jongwilas on Pee Mak’s incredible success at the box office.
gCircuit
Songkran has become synonymous with shirtless ladyboys getting fined B500 by the cops and gay guys from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore paying B3,200 for a chance to do the same at gCircuit, the electronic dance music party which danced and soaked its way through Imperial’s Queen’s Park, Sofitel So, Zen and Renaissance.
The Radio Dept.
The Swedish dream pop band takes over a Sonic Ekkamai that's jam-packed with Bangkok's finest looking indie-folk.
B1 Billion
Revenue it generated in movie theaters.
B50 million
Cost of making and promoting ghost comedy Pee Mak Phra Khanong.
MAY
“So many temptations could have led me astray.”
Baitoey R. Siam, telling BK about living alone in Bangkok, just as “Rak Tong Perd (Nan Oak)” reached four million YouTube views in six days.
Dodos & Deftones
Two big bands back to back at Centerpoint Studio only five days apart. Bangkok is really rocking!
“The page didn’t grow gradually. It was an instant hit.”
The anonymous creator of Jay the Rabbit, a humorous character appearing in comics on Facebook (446,000 today) telling BK about Jay’s meteoric rise to social media stardom.
Makkasan Hope
The State Railway, looking to alleviate its B100 billion debt, announces plans to redevelop the 500-rai acre plot next to the Makkasan Airport Link station. A group of concerned citizens under the name Makkasan Hope fight back for the development to include a park and throw a big concert to raise public awareness. Read our cover story on the matter.
Bangkok Marriott Hotel Sukhumvit
"It’s too far," people told the cool, Indian brother-and-sister duo behind this venture when they snapped up a piece of land by Sukhumvit Soi 57. Three years later, Thonglor has boomed and a rooftop venue, Octave, was the only thing missing in the ‘hood.
Well played.
“There is corruption, injustice and they take advantage of good people.”
Wuttipat Krasaensith, telling BK why he joined the anti-government protests and chose to wear the Guy Fawkes mask.
Sala Rattanakosin
Half of the renovated four-story building is dedicated to wining and dining, making the place a “restaurant with guestrooms.” Décor is minimal black and white. Food is Thai. The views of Wat Arun are stunning.
James Jirayu
Which clean cut Khun Chai will win your heart? Rewatch all five chapters of Suparpburut Juthathep to find out—definitely the biggest TV hit of the year.
4G
Finally. It’s here. Now you can blame the fact that your internet is still painfully slow on your provider, instead of the government.
Guy Fawkes
The masks go viral. Pheu Thai threatens to ban them. Now if only Yingluck had known that the British terrorist who attempted to blow up the parliament (and the king ironically) was the start of something much, much bigger...
JUNE
Buffalo’s Heart
Maitree Siriboon, another internationally recognized artist, this time in the field of visual arts, takes an affectionate look at Thailand as a farming nation undergoing rapid change.
High on Rice
The government bought a lot of rice, but it doesn’t know how much—a few hundred billion baht worth?
Unwrapping Culture
No cultural overview of our city in 2013 would be complete without celebrated choreographer Pichet Klunchun. Unwrapping Culture was his most political show of the year, a solo performance at Tonson Gallery that fiercely criticized Thailand’s inherent violence versus its mask of politeness.
Jet Set Monk
A video of monk Wirapol "Naen Kham" Sukphol on a private jet with bling-y sunglasses, state-of-the-art headphones and luxury leather bags goes viral. As the story unfolds, pictures of him having sex and tens of millions of baht in his bank accounts are revealed. The monk has still not returned to Thailand to face justice.
IT City
The digital business scene really took off this year, with Ardent Capital and Rocket Internet funding a bunch of tech startups, Thais taking to online shopping en masse and co-working spaces like Hubba and Launchpad popping up all over town.
Paradoxocracy
Given the touchy subject matter, we expected Pen-Ek Rattanarueng’s doco to be a bit more thrilling. But there’s just so many academic talking heads our short attention span can take. No wonder this film didn’t get banned.
“Bangkok is a much more interesting place to launch a digital e-commerce business than, say, Singapore.”
Dr. Adrian Vanzyl, CEO of Ardent Capital, talking to BK about why his digital venture capital company chose Bangkok as its base.
Talad Rodfai
One morning, bulldozers from the SRT showed up and that was the end of the beloved vintage market. A new location was offered, but was soon plagued by gangsters trying to run the show. Eventually it moved behind Seacon Square way out on Srinakarin Road.
Night Shift
Artists like Ohm Panphiroj and P7 show off Bangkok’s dark underbelly in an exhibition at Rooftop Gallery that celebrates nightlife.
“It’s grown really fast as more girls discover we are a gay couple.”
@theo_akira and @gusbanana, who together have over 233,000 Instagram followers, telling BK about the Y-Girl phenomenon which saw “girls” become obsessed with gay boys. Later that year, Tood Diary would prove just as successful.
“Girls are the ones that ask guys to have sex with them and they do it at home with their parents in the house.”
Songyot “Yong” Sukmakanan, the director of the hit TV series Hormones, telling BK about the research he did before starting the show.
JULY
“With a patchy plot, several simply unbelievable scenes and lots of forced dialogue, it’s hard to feel an emotional connection with the characters,”
BK’s Thitipol Panyalimpanun writes of Sarawat Mha Bha, the directorial debut of Chalermchatri Adam Yukon, the son of Prince Chatrichalerm Yukon (Suriyothai, King Naresuan).
Iron Fairies Moves
Twice the size and only a few shophouses down from the original, Ashley Sutton’s mad ode to fairies and ore mining opens its doors. Perhaps not as intimate, it still manages to retain much of its whimsical charm.
Rayong Oil Spill
Parts of Koh Samet get covered in crude oil, wildlife dies off, tourists pack up. One month later, when we first returned, Samet was still recovering. When things started to look all cleaned up, reports of water contamination and dying sea life popped up.
Ice Ice Baby
A picture of Hormone's actress Sutatta “Punpun” Udomsilp, 16, doing ice goes viral. Punpun goes on to win an award for her contributions to society from the Thunva Maharaj Foundation.
Thanaphop “Tor” Leerattanakajorn
The young actor shoots to fame from his starring role in the runaway cable TV smash Hormones, in which he’s cast as Pai, a hot-tempered student who is involved in crime, fights and sexual conquests. The series quickly becomes a teen favorite, garnering more than a million views for each episode on YouTube. As for Tor, he’s the new teen heartthrob, appearing in a music video for Getsunova and gracing numerous magazine covers.
Cloud 47
The food isn’t all that great. The service is atrocious. But the views are amazing and the prices perfectly reasonable, unlike Sirocco or Vertigo.
The Aston Dining Room
Chef Zra Jirarath leaves the Crystal Design Center to open an even more ambitious restaurant both in terms of its jungle-meets-industrial facade and its set menu of molecular cuisine.
Sexy Pancake Heats Up
A rural response to Mae Baan Mee Nuad? The Sexy Pancake facebook page launches in May and by July has gone viral with over 600,000 likes. The cross-dressing laborer who likes to strike sexy poses against rice paddies, tractors or buffalos now has over one million fans.
“Don’t give up, even when things seems hopeless.”
Vithaya Pansringarm, speaking to BK about his role in Only God Forgives, for which he began to train two years before shooting could begin.
Riding the Brunch Rocket
Of all the new café-cum-brunch spots to have popped up all over town, Rocket is one of the best executed, with a classic décor, tasty sandwiches and single-origin coffees. At roughly the same time, Tribeca launched in Thonglor, with a cool décor and lackluster brunch offerings. Riding on the coattails of Hyde & Seek and Smith, and soon joined by Opposite, then Quince, these standalones had Bangkok drowning in Hollandaise in 2013.
AUGUST
Whitespace
Having packed up their digs at Lido in Siam Square, the gallery from David Mayer’s architecture and interior design company Whitespace (the masterminds behind the design of hip venues like Tribeca Restobar and Mellow) reopens in Sala Daeng Soi 1, curated by Maitree Siriboon.
Pawn Shop
Closeups of Noi Pru shouting back at a ghost can only get you so far. Better luck next time, director Pharm Rangsi, who should release another ghost flick, Sayong Songbuntud, early next year.
Tang Wong
Director Kongdej Jaturanrasamee follows up his first indie film, P-047, with a comedy, which follows four high-school boys who, in praying that they achieve their dreams, promise to repay their good fortune by doing a Thai dance.
Transaction
A highly conceptual, interactive production from Thanapol “Dtam” Wirunhakul, which blends economics and contemporary dance.
Sonic Bang
It was a really random event with little or no sense of atmosphere outside the individual stages but the fantastic Secret Disco and crowd-pleasing performances by the likes of Pitbull and Jason Mraz toppled by a pop masterclass by the Pet Shop Boys made it one of the events of the year best music.
Porn in Parliament
Democrat MP Nat Bantadtan is busted oggling naked ladies on his phone. Then more porn pops up on the projector in parliament. The events are unrelated, though, clearly just a side-effect of the massive amounts of porn being browsed by MPs on any average day.
Maya
This new Indian restaurant on the 29th floor of the Holiday Inn Sukhumvit 22 serves up North Indian cusine by Chef Ramneek Singh Lamba and a great view.
“What good has this education system done for us? I don’t see anything.”
Student activist Nethiwit “Frank” Chotpatpaisan, speaking to BK about Thai schools as his crusade against the system’s rigidity gained increased attention. By November, he was awarded the Human Rights Youth Award by the National Human Rights Commission, but refused to accept it, suggesting it go to a victim of the lese majeste law instead.
Haus 20 Design and Dine
One of the founders, Anucha “Off“ Ochareon, introduced us to Rat Records with his electro-punk project Dot’s electrifying single “Another Lie,” which shot up the Fat Radio top 40 chart earlier this year. The second artist on the roster is Part Time Musicians, a folk trio who caused a stir with their latest release, “Would You Mind?” featuring Chladni Chandi. What really seals the deal for us, though, is the Rat Records’ HQ-cum-rockin’-live-venue Haus20 Design and Dine, one of the coolest places to catch indie gigs in Bangkok this year.
Simple.
After working at Bo.lan and Appia, young chef Natcha Chatlaong has struck out on her own with this organic grocers-slash-café-slash-restaurant.
“The feeling was, ‘What the hell is this place?’”
Sanya Souvanna Phouma speaks to BK about the rise and fall of Bed Supperclub, which closed on Aug 31 after 12 years of operation. Its closure prompted an outpouring of grief on our Facebook page as we broke the story.
SEPTEMBER
Justin Bieber
We’ve never heard of him but apparently he’s famous in America and drew quite a crowd of teens at Impact.
Booze Tax Hike Announcement
The amnesty we could deal with, the amendment we could accept, but this, Yingluck, really pissed us off. Don’t touch our drink!
B1 million
Amount pop star Baitoey R Siam was paid to perform at two parties for exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in Hong Kong.
Pun Pun Bike Sharing
Bangkok finally gets a bicycle rental system just like those hiso cities like Paris and London. Now if our office buildings could get showers, things would be perfect. Oh, and do you remember the water bottle scandal in the wake of Car-Free Day, when pictures were posted showing how tree-hugging bicyclists were horrible litterers? Their response: “There weren’t any bins.”
Somchai Ninsri
This December’s Thailand’s Got Talent winner, a meatball seller from Pattani, was criticized as winning because of his humble background. And so was the first TGT winner, who composes songs to bring peace to the South.
Mae Wong Dam Protests
These massive protests were clearly a portent of things to come. And, here too, the mostly Bangkokian and middle-class protesters got what they asked for: the government discarded the proposal by the Royal Irrigation Department (RID) to build the dam.
Derailments
This was a bad year for trains in Thailand. And in September, the 114 derailments (thus far) were blamed on a damaged painting of a locomotive at the State Railway of Thailand headquarters. Apparently fixing the painting didn’t help, since Governor Prapat would actually derail himself a couple months later while on board a PR tour meant to show the press everything is now fixed.
OCTOBER
Karaoke Girl
This blend of documentary and fiction by director Visra Vichit-Vadakarn won the Emerging International Filmmaker Award at London’s Open City Docs Fest 2013 for its sensitive and gripping portrayal of Sa, an escort girl who works in a karaoke bar to support her family upcountry. We gave it four stars, too.
The Remains
B-Floor veteran director Teerawat “Kage” Mulvilai introduces a series of political plays performed in collaboration with Thammasat University’s students to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the student uprising of Oct 14, 1973.
105
Cars towed during the first three weeks of the police's policy to fix traffic.
On the Tightrope
Jitti Chompee puts on his most elaborate production yet, which sees Nathan Harrow and Leo Fabre-Cartier playing a saxophone and an oud (an Arabian stringed instrument) live, while Chompee’s dancers mixed khon and acrobatics.
Starbung Vs. Starbucks
Humble Muslim coffee seller Damrong Maslae attracts the ire of global corporation Starbucks for his green logo clearly inspired by the American mermaid. Threatened with a B300,000 lawsuit, Damrong didn’t budge at first, but finally settled out of court and changed his logo.
Kaze and Co.
The amount of Japanese restaurants to have opened this year is just insane. Kaze was one of the more notable arrivals. Its mix of marble and wood shows off a handsome sushi bar where the chef whips up lightly battered tempura and tender Kagishima beef.
“Haters are good at finding little things to hate.If you hate someone, even their breathing will annoy you.”
Kratae RSiam, speaking to BK about recent hate campaigns against her on social media, as she released “Tuet,” her latest single.
Tom Yum Goong 2
We love Tony Jaa, and we realize this is an action movie, and yeah the fights were kick-ass, but could Tom Yum Goong have been a little bit less moronic?
Rain
BK’s official bulletin: it rained, like a LOT in Bangkok this year.
Is Am Are
Three short movies directed by three new directors veteran actress and model Patsaweepitch Sornakarapa, Chulalongkorn film professor Ruksarn Viwatsinudom and Pagasit Pattarateranon.
Ku De Ta
With several clubs, restaurants and private rooms occupying the top two floors of Sathorn Square, Ku De Ta was one of the most hyped nightlife arrivals in years—and one of the most delayed. Ku De Ta's key selling point is its views although it is almost entirely indoors except for a small terrace for smokers. Eventually, there will be three restaurants, seven themed bars, two clubs and some private event spaces. Currently, only the first floor is open, though, with Ku Bar, Izakaya (a Japanese robatayaki and ramen bar restaurant), Signature (modern Asian dining), Club Lounge and Sound Garden (live band).
Fat Radio
The writing had been on the wall since they changed FM bands late last year, then postponed the Fat T-Shirt festival multiple times. Finally, money problems caused them to go off-air Oct 25 but they can still be heard online at www.vr1media.com
NOVEMBER
The Rocket
Screened at CentralWorld’s World Film Festival, set amid the picturesque rural landscape of Laos and starring Thai comedian Thep Phongam, the film follows the eventful quest of 10-year-old boy Ahlo (Sitthiphon Disamoe), deemed a jinx by everyone around him, to prove them wrong by entering a rocket festival with his own contraption. It won Best Narrative Feature at the Tribeca Film Festival and Best Debut Film at the Berlin International Film Festival.
Kook Khao
We got so fed up with hearing this single in every pub, but Cocktail did get 38 million views for their effort.
“I just wanted to use sex as a tool to communicate that uniforms are controlling our true identity.”
Sara Chuichai, aka Aum Neko, speaking to BK about the controversy she stirred by striking a sexy pose next to the statue of Pridi Panomyong, the founder of Thammasat, where she studies.
Lang Ling (The Aerialist)
Leng Rachanikorn Kaewdee, the winner of Thailand’s Got Talent 2012, blends acrobatic gymnastics with the tale of the Ramayana, featuring guest performers Katreeya English, Tanya Tanyares, Nook Sutthida, Ja Yossinee and the 2008 World Yoga Champion Ball Rattanapong.
“People never took to the streets this fast and with such big numbers. The parliament passed the bill on Nov 1 at 4:25am. The next morning, there were thousands of people on the streets.”
Manna Nimitmongkol, director of the Anti-Corruption Organization of Thailand (ACT), talking to BK about his fight against crooked politicians.
Mary is Happy, Mary is Happy
Drawing inspiration from a Twitter stream, Director Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit (36) latest film tells the story of high school senior Mary (Patcha Poonpiriya) as she struggles to come to grips with a number of strange events.
Two Door Cinema Club
The long awaited (by Thai fans) and globally hyped indie trio cancels due to a sore throat. Thousands of hearts weep in the Bangkok night. But Bonaparte put on a spectacle at their out there gig at Cosmic!
Protests
The protesters are back! And we’ve never seen so many of them since May 2010! But wait. They’re not in red. And they have whistles, now. What was definitely new this time around was also the protest selfies trend on Facebook, showing that expert duck pouts and political convictions are not mutually exclusive. Also, let’s not forget that it worked. Both the constitutional amendment to make the senate elected and the amnesty bill to bring Thaksin back home were shelved. In December, Yingluck even dissolved the parliament.
Wild Nothing
Concert promoters extraordinaire Have You Heard? mark their second anniversary with four bands from four countries: Part Time Musicians (Thailand), Veronica Falls (UK), Last Dinosaurs (Australia) and the buzzing dream pop prince Jack Tatum aka Wild Nothing.
The Cribs
The British garage band, led by twins Gary and Ryan Jarman makes its Bangkok debut with some new material as well as old crowd favorites like "Men's Needs" and "Hey Scenesters." With the crowd surfing and top-notch performance, the temperature quickly rose, leading Gary to peel off his t-shirt, Justin Bieber-style.
“Administrations want people to be stupid.”
Thida Thavornseth, leader of the Red Shirts, speaking to BK about her opposition to the amnesty bill.
Inhabitation
This group exhibition curated by Dhanainun Dhanarachwattana showcased the works of emerging photographers Rasiguet Sookkarn, Withit Chanthamarit, Soopakorn Srisakul, Tawatchai Pattanaporn and Dhanainun Dhanarachwattana. It defined a generation of contemporary Thai photographers and their vision of everyday Thailand, without the usual archetypes.
The Isthmus
Written and directed by two university film lecturers, Sopawan Boonnimitra and Peerachai Kerdsint, and starring Sangthong Gate U-Thong, it tells the story of a mother, Da, who after her Burmese maid dies, sees her eight-year-old daughter mysteriously lose her mother tongue and speak only Burmese. Sa takes her little girl to a Burmese doctor in Ranong where they encounter a different world within the Burmese community.
"Sorry I had sex"
Boy Pakorn has sex with some woman in Korea—your garden-variety consensual straight adult sex in bed—and is forced to apologize for being such a huge disappointment.
Bangkok Betty
Ashley Sutton’s latest creation has a back story that conjures up 1940s America, its pin-up girls, love of chrome, and the young nation’s fondness for weapons of mass destruction. Hence, its decor is meant to evoke a bomb factory, with deadly chrome cylinders of all sizes the recurring motif.
DECEMBER
Hiso Markets
It started with the farmer’s market at Bo.lan, then Big Bite at Maduzi, Spring Epicurean at Spring Summer and a bunch of themed markets at K Village. Finally, with property developer Sansiri doing their own thing at San Samran bridge, we had three gifty, crafty and foodie markets on the same weekend. How gentrified you’ve become, Bangkok, with all your sourdough and homemade terrines.
#prayforthailand
It must be the cooler weather, as protesters get mystical in their fight against the government.
Big Mountain
The biggest out-of-town music festival in the country saw 200 Thai and international artists playing to a crowd of over 14,000 revelers. Our top picks: Austra, Prince Fatty and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.
Yellow Fang
The much-loved indie trio finally release an album, The Greatest, which actually deserves its title. And the rocking launch party, with glam-pop prince Mac DeMarco, was a fitting celebration.
