Bangkok film festival opens with Asian focus but less sparkle

(AFP)
Updated: 2007-07-20 09:48

Thai celebrities arrive for the opening night of the Bangkok International Film in Bangkok. [AFP]

The Bangkok International Film Festival kicked off late Thursday with a new focus on Asian cinema, but considerably less sparkle than previous years when Hollywood stars filled the red carpet.

More than 100 films are set to be screened over 10 days in a brand-new cinema complex in downtown Bangkok.

"The industry in Thailand is growing well. Other Asian countries like (South) Korea, Japan and India are famous for films. As part of Asia, we want to showcase this," said Phornsiri Manoharn, president of the festival, at the opening ceremony.

But the five-year-old festival that has aimed to rival Busan in South Korea as Asia's leading film event has been dogged by organisational problems and controversy, while Thailand's post-coup government has cut its budget.

The film originally set to screen during the opening gala Thursday, the award-winning Iranian film "Persepolis," was dropped at the last minute after the Iranian embassy protested that it portrayed the country negatively.

In its place, the festival is opening with "Children of Glory," a 2006 Hungarian film about a bloody water polo match at the 1956 Olympics set amid the Hungarian Revolution against the Soviet Union.

The opening itself came six months late, after the festival was forced to delay its scheduled January opening when the cinema originally set to host the event pulled out due to financial concerns.

The festival's budget was reportedly slashed by nearly 50 percent to 80 million baht after the military seized control of the government in a bloodless coup last September.

The military has cut other cultural spending, axing Bangkok's Fashion Week among other programmes, while quadrupling the defence budget.

While celebrities like Oliver Stone, Willem Dafoe and Catherine Deneuve lined the red carpet in 2006, no major international stars are attending this year.

A handful of regional stars are making appearances, including Bollywood actress Hema Malini, Israeli director Amos Gitai, and Vietnamese action star Johnny Nguyen.

The festival winds up on July 28, when the panels of international judges will award Golden Kinnarees -- named after a half-bird, half-woman from Thai mythology -- to the best international film, best regional film and best short film.

The Bangkok festival has failed to gain momentum in part because of disputes between the Tourism Authority of Thailand -- the government agency that sponsors the festival -- and the Thai film industry confederation.

The rivalries led to the creation of a second event called the World Film Festival of Bangkok, which critics say divides the resources and attention of the country's relatively small film community.