Thai Films: Elephants Before Your Eyes
THAI films gave the world quite a big surprise when Tropical Malady, a film by Apichatpong Weerasethakul, was awarded the Special Jury Prize last week at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, although several Thai films have previously taken part in film festivals and have nearly always won awardsor at least enjoyed critics' commendation. Two weeks ago, Teater Utan Kayu organized a Thai Film Week. Also the 21 cinema network has screened a number of Thai films. What has enabled Thai films to gain quicker access to the international arena than Indonesian films? How are Thailand's film industry infrastructure and studios better than Indonesia?
June 8, 2004
A SURPRISE emerged from the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. Tropical Malady, a Thai film by Apichatpong Weerasethakul was awarded the Special Jury Prize by the panel of judges chaired by Quentin Tarantino. The first to be entered into this Cannes competition section, the film won a prestigious award right away. It is not the first Thai film to win an award in an international festival. Apichatpong's earlier film, titled Blissfully Yours, made it in
...