‘Lost’ 1954 Thai film to screen at Cannes fest
THE FIRST Thai film to win awards overseas, whose print was presumed lost for decades, will get a screening at next month’s Cannes Film Festival, officials announced late on Wednesday night.
According to a festival press release and the Film Archive (Public Organisation) Thailand, a restored print of the 1954 romantic drama “Santi-Vina” will screen at the prestigious film festival as part of the Cannes Classics programme.
Directed by Thavi “Kru Marut” na Bangchang with a screenplay by Vichit Kounavudhi and cinematography by RD Pestonji, “Santi-Vina” won three prizes at the 1954 Asia-Pacific Film Festival in Tokyo.
However after screening that year in Bangkok, the film disappeared.
Found in Russia, China
Pestonji’s son Santa Pestonji directed a remake in 1976, but it is in poor condition.
Around 2014, traces of the original “Santi-Vina” were found, in the British Film Institute (BFI) as well as in the China Film Archive and at the Gosfilmofond in Russia. The film was restored using state-of-the-art digital technology by L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory and will be shown during the Cannes Film Festival from May 11 to 22.
