A celebration in film

THAILAND and Malaysia are marking 60 years of diplomatic relations this year and the kingdom was quick to kick off the celebrations last month by hosting the first-ever Thai Film Festival in Kuala Lumpur. Organised by the Thai Foreign Ministry in collaboration with the National Federation of Motion Pictures & Contents Associations of Thailand, five recent films were selected for the festival.
Picked for their appeal to Malaysian viewers, “A Gift” (2016), “Mr Hurt” (2017), “One Day” (2016), “Take Me Home” (2016) and “The Crown” (2016) were shown at Golden Screen Cinemas in Kuala Lumpur between April 20 and 26.

“A Gift”, an anthology comprised of three short films, focuses on different types of love including between a man and woman, and a daughter and her ageing father. Inspired by three songs composed by His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej who passed away in October last year, it weaves “Love at Sundown”, “New Year Greeting” and “Still on My Mind” into each of the short stories.
The festival opened on April 20 with a screening of “Mr Hurt” directed by Ittisak Eusunthornwattana and starring Sunny Suwanmethanont and Mashannoad Suvalmas.
Ittisak and Mashannoad attended the festival along with “A Gift” supporting actress Note Panayanggool and were on hand to meet and greet the audience as well as take part in the Q&A session following the screening.
Earlier in the evening, Thailand’s ambassador to Malaysia, Damrong Kraikruan, spoke of Thailand’s long history of film production.
“A film is the best way to relate the stories and cultures of a country,” he said during the opening ceremony. “We believe that film is powerful. “It is a great way to bring us closer to each other.

“We have all heard the saying, ‘A picture is worth a thousand words’. So, the thousands of pictures in each of the films are surely worth millions of words.” he added.
In “Mr Hurt", Sunny plays professional tennis champion; Don Srichang who is dumped by his actress girlfriend, Anna, after proposing to her. His life and career take a downward turn but life becomes a little brighter when his longlost childhood friend, Dew, comes back into the picture.
The Malaysian audience was surprised to see Ittisak and Mashannoad or Lin, as she is known, sitting in the back row of the cinema. Whispers of “Dew”, the character Lin plays in the movie, could be clearly heard.

The emcee then invited director and the actress to the stage for the session” where they received a warm welcome.
Ittisak said he chose to do a film about tennis because it is a popular sport in Thailand and he personally liked watching it. Moreover professional tennis players have very different personalities both on and off the court. Some are hot-tempered, others are fashionable and yet others are best known for their techniques on court.
Lin had earlier told the Malaysian media, “Heartbreak can be enjoyable,” while director Ittisak had said “time is the best medicine”. He also told the audience that he liked to lie down in the bathtub to cool down and that was why he had chosen the tub as Don’s refuge when he was facing problems.
Lin, a professional model and music video actress, told the audience that she worked hard for the film as it was her first movie. She read the entire script several times and even signed up for acting classes.
Supporting actress Note Panayanggool who appeared in “The Gift” also put in an appearance, singing the song “Love at Sundown” – a soundtrack from the movie.
“I was very honoured to be part of ‘A Gift’, to be able to sing [the King's] song," she told the audience.
“I really hope you enjoy all the movies here. It's really a great opportunity for we Thais to be showing our work and films here,” Note added.

Speaking later to The Nation, she said she was surprised by how the Malaysians reacted to Thai films. “I met some fans and they were very sincere. I’m very happy. Some have even seen the TV series I’ve been in,” she said.
 “I’m happy that now I know I can act.”
The Thai ambassador was clearly delighted with the inaugural Thai film festival and its status in kicking off the yearlong celebrations.
“I believe the festival will be the fruitful event in attracting interest from the Malaysian public because viewers can see it with their own eyes. Films can clearly show ways of lives, values, beliefs and culture of a country.
“I’m really surprised that the Malaysians were so interested in watching Thai films and that they know our stars. Many of them were asking for autographs from the stars we invited to the event,” he said.
Damrong said he was particularly pleased with the way “The Gift” showed the love of the Thai people for the late Monarch.
Other functions would be organised in collaboration with the Malaysian authorities to celebrate the mutual excellent ties throughout the year, he added
Ittisak too was happy with the success of the festival and honoured to have been invited to attend.
“The feedback has been good and they laughed at the funny scenes and could follow the story like Thai viewers,” he said. “Before coming to Malaysia, I had no idea that the Malaysians were interested in the Thai movies. I was so surprised when I member of the Thai Embassy staff met me at the airport and told me that the screenings were fully booked. I would like to thank the Malaysians for showing so much interest in my film."
Lin said she was worried at first that people in Malaysia didn’t know her and had come to see the movie because of Sunny, who plays the tennis ace.
“But they did know me and some even follow me on Instagram. One fan gave me presents. I’m happy and honoured to be here.
“I was unsure that foreigners would understand the film but they laughed at the funny scenes. They called me Dew and teased me something in the movie, showing that they understood it."
Chokchai Chayawatto, the executive director of the National Federation of Motion Pictures and Contents Association, was less surprised, pointing out that Thai films and stars are popular in Asian countries, particularly horror flicks.
He added that the movie industry used to worry about pirated movies but the situation had improved considerably now that VCDs were out of fashion.
“However, there are still a lot of illegal servers where people can watch movies online for a monthly fee. It is very difficult to trace those servers and the laws have to be amended to stay abreast of them,” he said.