Group shot for the cameras. From left: Urs Brunner, actresses Mamee Nakprasitte, Viyada Umarin and Kalorin Neemayothin, with fomer tennis ace Paradon "Ball" Srichapan and Urs's wife Maleerat, the angel in Angel & Bear Productions.

Western films set in Thailand up to now have all pretty much had the same characteristics: The stars are Westerners and Thailand is simply an exotic backdrop. Thai actors and actresses are all taxi drivers, gangsters or gogo girls.

Bitter/Sweet, which had its Thailand premiere in Phuket last night (June 11) as part of the Phuket Film Festival, deliberately sets out to break that mould.

Urs Brunner, whose Angel & Bear production company funded the movie, and who also shares the writing credits, told the Observer at the post-screening party at the Vijjit Resort, “We wanted first to portray Thai women as strong, independent and intelligent. I also insisted that the Thai actors must have as much time onscreen as the Westerners.”

Urs Brunner (second from right) with Mamee Nakprasitte (right), Kal (left) and local Boncafé boss Phakin "Nasser" Tanskul.

On this level, the movie works very well. Napakpapha “Mamee” Nakprasitte plays Ticha, a 20-something Thai girl who has risen above her rural roots to run a successful PR company in the Big Mango. It helps, of course, that the camera absolutely loves her, and her sidekick Mook (played by US-born Kalorin “Kal” Supaluck Neemayothin). Both are convincing as strong, independent and intelligent – and gorgeous.

They also get as much screen time as the three main farang actors – Kip Pardue as Brain Chandler; the amusing Spencer Garrett as Austrian exile Werner; and veteran James Brolin as coffee tycoon Calvert Jenkins.

Much of the action revolves around the coffee business and the coffee plantations of Krabi, which also allows the movie to work as a promotional tool for Thailand in general and Krabi in particular. Apparently the Tourism Authority of Thailand, which initially turned its nose up at the project, is now very interested.

The scenery in Krabi is jaw-droppingly beautiful, and this comes across well, particularly during a short interlude in which the two main characters, Brian and Ticha, take time out to see the sights. Director Jeff Hare knows good scenery when he sees it and makes the most of it.

The movie also works as a promotional tool for Thai coffee. This is no bad thing for Urs’s other interest – his Chonburi-based coffee processing, distribution and retail company Boncafé.

Bitter/Sweet is most unlikely to feature in the Oscars (though it did win best director and best movie at the Houston film fest). The plot is a simple “boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy finds girl again” romance with some amusing comedic moments, a little tension here and there, and no surprises.

The acting is generally convincing, though Liz Burnette gets a credit as “Ticha’s voice” so one imagines Mamee’s English may have been a bit too Tinglish at times (though in Thai she is forceful and in command of her role).

Bitter/Sweet is much more sweet than bitter. It slips down as easily as latte, and rates overall as good light entertainment without too much thought required.

Urs told the Observer that it will be showing in movie theatres around Thailand – it has subtitles in English when dialogue is in Thai, and vice-versa, so is accessible in either language. In most of the rest of the world, it’s going straight to DVD; deals have already been done for Australia and Japan and a number of other countries.

One hopes that copies have been sent to every US director so that they can consider whether the time has come to portray Thailand and the Thais more as they are, and less through the warped lens of  American cinematic hegemony.

No coffee or massage without the card. Scott Rosenberg makes his point, watched by amused sponsor Charn Wongstayanont of Phuket Jet Tour.

Around 100 people turned up at the Royal Phuket Marina last night for the official opening party of the 2010 Phuket Film Festival. Most were the usual suspects from Phuket, but there was also a sprinkling of movie people from Bangkok, specially invited for the event, along with Italian, American and Indian movie people whose films are showing during the festival.

But the gravitational centre of the evening was organiser Scott Rosenberg. As wide as a double-decker London bus, with a pate as shiny as the ball in a pinball machine. In his unmistakable light cream jacket, he binged around the centre courtyard of the marina like, well, like the ball in a pinball machine, issuing instructions to all and sundry.

A particular concern was that no one  – and that means no one – should get a free coffee or a free neck and shoulder massage without first showing they had a special GIC Film Festival lifestyle card.

Brightening up the evening was Swedish-Chinese actress Ase Wang, fresh from filming of the made-in-Thailand movie, 'The Prince & Me: The Elephant Adventure'.

But now it was time for the speeches. Again, Mr Rosenberg dominated, giving thanks and conch-design trophies to all the sponsors. Well, most of them. Apparently the Red Shirt problem in Bangkok had resulted in the trophy makers coming up short on the order, so in many cases it was “Hold this for a photo. Now give it back. Don’t worry – you’ll get one. I promise.”

The situation was eased somewhat by the fact that some of the sponsors seemed to have forgotten about the event, including the main media sponsor. “Anyone here from…? No? A reporter maybe? No?” Ah well. One plastic conch saved.

Finally, the celebrities were lined up for a group photo. Lots of people took pictures, though whether they knew who they were photographing was not clear.

And then it started to rain in earnest.

—

The Phuket Film Festival runs until June 13. A schedule of movie showings and events may be seen/downloaded here.

Job2Do

It’s taken a while, but Phuket now has its answer to Koh Pha Ngan’s full moon reputation – the Phuket Roy Fest. Granted, the Roy Fest is not every month, but it has big names that Pha Ngan would find it hard to match.

The festival (“Roy” means, roughly, “cool” in southern Thai dialect), takes place on June 25 and 26 at Karon Beach. The 26th sees a full moon rise shortly after 6pm. Roy Fest will feature a line-up that includes such Thai stalwarts as Reggae artists Job2Do and Fourgasm, ska bands Joe Fox and Tamone, hip hop band Buddha Bless and a load of deejays, including platter-meisters from Singapore, Japan and Ireland. Here’s the full programme:

Friday June 25
6-7 pm –  Joe Fox (Ska)

Buddha Bless.

7-8 pm  - Job2Do (Reggae)
8-9 pm  - Mahajamruen (Electro Live)
9-10:30 pm – DJs Thanathron (Techno)
10:30 to midnight – DJs Activa (Electronica)
Midnight to 2 am – DJs Agnelli and Nelson (Trance, Electronica – from Ireland)

Saturday June 26
6-7 pm – Tamone (Ska)
7-8 pm – Fourgasm Live Band (Reggae)
8-9 pm – Bhuddha Bless (HipHop)
9-10:30 pm – DJs Spydermonkee (Drum & Bass)
10:30 to midnight – DjB (Electronica – from Singapore)
Midnight to 2 am - DJs Yogi (Trance, Electronica, Techno – from Japan)

And the best thing is, it’s free.

The very beginnings of Bollywood - a scene from 'Raya Harishchandra' the making of which is examined in the festival's opening movie, 'Harishchandrachi Factory'.

With six weeks to go, the 2010 Phuket Film Festival is taking shape nicely. At least 10 feature films are now confirmed for the festival, which kicks off on June 4 at the SFX Coliseum in Central Festival with a screening of India’s official entry in the 2009 Oscars, Harishchandrachi Factory.

Director/writer/producer Paresh Mokashi will be in attendance. The film is a docu-drama about the making of India’s first silent feature film, Raja Harishchandra, in 1913.

Also to be screened on the same night is Per Sofia, an Italian drama following the emotional and intellectual journey of a young musician, inspired by living next door to the house occupied 70 years earlier by Sophia, a young pianist.

The following day sees the midday screening of the Vietnamese movie Dong Dot, whose director will be at the screening, and the official Festival opening party at the Royal Phuket Marina. There will also be a screening, at 2pm of The Soi Dog Movie, with all proceeds going to the animal welfare charity.

June 6 sees the screening of three films: a Thai classic movie; the Discovery Channel documentary Anatomy of a Recovery, which covers the aftermath of the 2004 Asian Tsunami; and a classic French film. Takings at the screening of Anatomy of a Recovery will go to the Chumchonthai Foundation, to support its work with the Sea Gypsy people of Phuket. The last showing of the day, at 9pm, will be the Indian action comedy Chandni Chowk to China, parts of which were shot in Bangkok and Ratchaburi.

The first in a series of three Meet The Directors sessions – all at Cape Yamu – will take place on June 7. In the hot seat will be Darnell Martin, director and writer of Cadillac Records, which charts the rise of the Chess record label. In town, the Australian musical comedy Bran Nue Dae will be screened at 9pm.

The real Harvey Milk (right) - subject of the Gus Van Sant movie 'Milk' - campaigning for votes in 1976 in San Francisco.

The following day will see the second of the Directors series, featuring Gus Van Sant and a screening of Milk, the Sean Penn docu-drama about Harvey Milk, the first openly gay person elected to political office in California and later assassinated. A French film, as yet unnamed, will be shown on the same night at the SFX complex.

There appears to be no programme yet for June 8, but the evening of June 9 will be a showcase for “alternative lifestyle” – gay – movies.

June 11 sees the Thailand premiere of the Thai-American co-production, Bitter/Sweet, a love story shot among the coffee plantations of Krabi. American actor Kip Pardue and Thailand’s Mamee Nakprasitte play the lovers. Worth looking out for parts played by James Brolin and even a brief cameo by Tata Young. For those with a yen to hang out with Thai stars, there will be a reception afterwards at the Vijitt Resort.

On June 12, have yet to be announced but will include a Meet the Directors session with a Thai movie director and a closing movie, “maybe the Thai movie Phuket“, the organisers say. Phuket is a love story between a young Korean actress and a Thai limousine driver, in Korean and Thai language, naturally.

The closing day, June 13, will see the world premiere of Thai director Yuthlert Sippapak’s Friday Killer, the first movie in his promised Killers Trilogy. Yuthlert’s credits include Killer Tattoo (2001), February (2003), and Buppah Rahtree (2003) which is one of Thailand’s highest grossing films, popular for its eccentric storyline and blend of horror with comedy.

Killer Friday stars comedian Suthep Pho-ngam. He, the director and members of the cast are expected to attend a reception after the movie.

With all the comparisons with Cannes, can we expect the Phuket Film Festival to attract startlets posing for the cameras? - Photo by Eric D

Apparently undaunted by the way the 2009 Phuket Film Festival fizzled out, organiser Scott Rosenberg is gearing up for another go at it, and has issued a call for entries for the 2010 event.

The first festival was in 2007, with the second due to have been in June last year. That collapsed when the Thai government decided to host an Asean summit in Phuket with massive security to counter any attempts by the opposition Red Shirts to disrupt the summit.

This, Rosenberg said, scared off some of the big names – and with them the money, so he decided to cancel the festival. Minutes after he sent out the cancellation notice, the summit was postponed to October. Rosenberg says his company lost a million baht as a result and denied that the real reason for the cancellation was ongoing financial woes. (See earlier story here.)

Thai politics have calmed down a bit since then, and so far no summit meetings are planned for Phuket between June 4 and 13, the scheduled dates of this year’s festival.

Rosenberg commented “The [Cannes International Film Festival] had a rocky 3-4 year start and while we don’t want to emulate them, we sure do want to grow up to be like them.”

True. The first Cannes festival was supposed to be in 1939 but the occupation of much of France by Germany proved a bit of an obstacle. The Cannes festival was not revived until 1946. The following year a storm blew the roof off the purpose-built festival venue.

“The 2010 [Phuket] Festival expects to screen about 30 – 40 films with a People’s Choice Awards held for selected films,” Rosenberg’s company announced.

“This year the Phuket Film Festival is partnering with B-Side, an international web-based protocol for previewing Festival films and measuring audience reaction to the films. B-Side also allows film makers not only local Festival reach for their films but international exposure as well.”

Films may be entered for the festival by going to here or by emailing the organisers.  The deadline for submissions is April 30. A demo of the B-Side system can be seen here.

Entertainment at last year's Old Phuket Festival: Kids ride in a rickshaw, a young boy demonstrates his kung fu prowess and a dragon is paraded along Thalang Rd.

The 11th annual Old Phuket Festival, which this year will run from February 19 to 21, promises a feast of free entertainment along with the chance to mingle with locals who will also be celebrating the Chinese New Year.

So easy I can do it standing on my head: Performers from China spin plates at last year's Old Phuket Festival.

As in past years, streets in the old part of Phuket Town will be pedestrians-only, with street entertainers, food stalls and the chance to take a look inside some of the old town’s fascinating shop-houses.

In the Queen Sirikit Park (on Thalang Rd, next to the Toursim Authority of Thailand’s offices), ten entertainment groups from China, acrobats, Shaolin Kung Fu experts, Tibetan dancers, a mask dance from Sichuan and extracts from Chinese opera will occupy the specially erected stage. There will also be street parades of locals in traditional costume.

For those of a religious bent, buses will take people on tours of five Chinese Taoist shrines. The tour schedule begins at 1pm every day. There will also be rickshaws to ride in, and gentle boat trips on Klong Bang Yai canal, which runs under Thalang Rd and was once the city’s main trade thoroughfare.

For egotists, the Post Office will offer a special souvenir: get a stamp with your photograph on it, which can be mailed anywhere.

Expect dance performances, both traditional and modern, at the festival.

The Old Phuket Foundation will hold its fourth Local Life Festival on December 27, with Thalang Rd and Soi Romanee lit up, live music and huge amounts of local food and drinks. Admission to the event, which starts about 6pm, is free.

The foundation’s president, Dr Prasit Koysiripong, noted that this year the lighting of the buildings should be particularly attractive as the Phuket Town Municipality will have completed its project to put all power lines in Thalang Rd underground (the same was done in Soi Romanee a year ago).

As a result, all the power poles and swags of cables on the buildings will have been removed, allowing the Sino-Portuguese shophouses to be seen unobstructed for the first time in decades.

Food will range from local Chinese delicacies to Thai curries and Muslim specialities. The organisers have planned things so that up to 4,000 people can eat and drink their fill.

Stage performances, said Dr Prasit, will be “second to none”. They will include a band from the Yamaha Music School, a performance by local musician Tanit Prateep na Thalang and several local duos and trios.

A wide variety of food wil also be available. The organisers are catering for up to 4,000 people this year.

The performing arts will be represented with a couple of plays and a short film by Dr Marut Lekpetch, winner of a Best Short Film award at the Rotterdam International Film Festival.

Phuket Thai Hua School, Satree Phuket School, Phuket Wittayalai School, and local municipality schools will all be putting on performances as well.

In addition, street musicians will entertain along Soi Romanee, providing a quiet getaway from the crowds expected in Thalang Rd.

“There is no entrance fee for this event,” Dr Prasit added, “though everyone is encouraged to buy food and drinks.
“The purpose is to attract people to the old town, to celebrate the coming New Year, and to allow expatriates and visitors to mingle with and meet the locals.”

For more information email Dr Prasit or call +66 (0) 8-1719-5493, 8-1552-3790, 8-1892-0618 or 8-6272-4466.

Charlie Musselwhite is the headliner on Day 2 of the event. Photo by Mikesfox.

Woaaah! Clapton’s going to play in Phuket. Yup, that’s right – Clapton, Richard Clapton. From Australia… Poor guy must get this all the time, which is actually unfair. In his native Oz, Richard’s been an icon for a long time, and some of his melodic rock songs are still on every Aussie FM station playlist.

While he may not quite be up in the stratosphere with Eric, he’s been there and done that – went on the trail to London in the ’70s, and later to Germany, drawing applause from fellow troubadors Neil Young and Jackson Browne, before scoring critical and public acclaim as long ago as 1975, with his second album, Girls on the Avenue.

Richard is just one of the stars lined up for the Phuket International Blues Rock Festival, on February 26 and 27 at its usual venue in the grounds of the Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort & Spa. He’ll headline Day 1 of the event.

Richard Clapton - big name in Oz.

The Phuket festival just gets better. The headliner on Day 2 is top blues harp player and vocalist Charlie Musselwhite. Originally from Mississippi, he cut his teeth in the Chicago blues scene in the early ’60s alongside such greats as Elmore James, Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker. He soared to fame with Stand Back! Here Comes Charley Musselwhite’s Southside Band in 1966, and has since gone on to release more than 20 albums, and has guested on other albums by the likes of Tom Waits, Bonnie Raitt and INXS.

The festival will feature six acts per night, including regulars the Rich Harper Band from the US, KNiKi from Australia, George Cordeiro and the Fai Jang Blues Gang, and local Phuket heroes Tony “Chainsaw” Wilson and Rob Davies. New to the festival next year will be world music band AkashA from Malaysia, Latino Blues meister Andy Gonzales, Robert “One Man” Johnson (both from the US) and Bangkok’s Retrovision.

For more information, contact Andy Andersen, Festival Director, at +66 (0) 86 682 2639; email: phuketmusic@yahoo.com, or visit the festival website. For tickets see this page.

Loy Kratong is a time to concentrate on banishing all negative thoughts and emotions.

Thailand’s most famous festival is undoubtedly Songkran, the Thai New Year, the annual three-day water battle in April. At the other end of the year is a very different, much quieter yet infinitely more touching festival – Loy Kratong.

Stemming probably from the Indian festival of Dipawali, Loy Kratong allows participants to get rid of their anger, frustrations, jealousies – all those negative vibes – by watching floating them away on a river or a klong (or in Phuket from a beach) in a kratong.

Kratongs are small rafts, usually circular and about six to 10 inches across, decorated with folded banana leaves, flowers, joss sticks and a candle. Gently pushed into the stream or out onto the sea, they carry away all those bad vibes, allowing one to start afresh and newly calm.

Legend has it that the first kratong was made and launched by Queen Noppamas in Sukhothai some 700 years ago, so today Loy Kratong often features Noppamas Queen contests.

While the candles of the kratong light up the waterways, khom fai lanterns spangle the sky.

Another feature of the festival in Phuket is the lunching into the air of khom fai – delicate paper balloons about a metre in height and half a metre in diameter, lofted by a small flame burning in the base. Hundreds of these taking off and mingling with the stars are a thoroughly uplifting sight.

The main celebration of this festival in Phuket takes place at Saphan Hin, just southeast of Phuket Town, but many other places join in, including most of the island’s hotels.

Traditionally, the base of a kratong is made from a horizontal slice of a banana tree, but sadly, in recent years some people (particularly vendors selling kratongs to the public) have substituted styrofoam, creating unwelcome pollution of waterways and sea. So if you buy a kratong, make sure it’s the traditional type.

This year’s festival is on November 2.

Pretty in pink - some of the Mah Song are women. © Alasdair Forbes

It’s nearly that time of year again, when hundreds of  Chinese gods and goddesses are invited down from heaven to occupy the bodies of ordinary mortals  – the Mah Song, or mounts of the gods – for the annual Phuket Vegetarian Festival.

This year’s festival runs from October 17 to 27, with processions from the main shrines winding their way around various parts of the island, a bizarre yet strangely compelling affair with the Mah Song jittering along the streets, their cheeks and sometimes other parts of their bodies pierced with a bewildering assortment of objects, ranging from decorated skewers to motorbike wheels, flagpoles (complete with flags), shovels, and much more. Some show their devotion by slicing their tongues with swords or daggers. This is not a celebration for the squeamish.

It is said that the self-inflicted injuries heal at remarkable speed and leave no scars.

It’s also very noisy, particularly around the shrines, with drums and hundreds – thousands – of firecrackers being set off to drive away evil spirits and celebrate the presence of the gods.  Brilliantly coloured flags and embroidered costumes disappear and reappear from the dense clouds of smoke from the firecrackers and from aromatic incense sticks. It’s a stunning sensory feast.

In the evenings more believers test their faith at the shrines – or San Jao – by firewalking, climbing ladders made of sharp blades – barefoot – or pouring boiling oil on themselves. It’s said no one is ever injured.

The festival begins on the 17th with the raising of lantern poles at the island’s nine main shrines. It is down these poles that the gods will descend to earth.

A shovel put to unusual use. © Alasdair Forbes

Ornate ceremonies to propitiate the gods and make offerings of food to them occupy the following three days, often starting before dawn.

The first shrine to stage its procession this year will be Sam Kong, on the east side of Phuket Town, starting at 07:19 on the 21st. Processions from the other shrines start at varying times (all calculated to be the most propitious) during the following days.

On the 26th, ceremonies are held to say farewell to the gods until the following year and then, on the 27th, the lantern poles are lowered and dismantled, signalling the end of the festival.

Throughout the festival believers – not just the Mah Song – adhere to a strict vegetarian diet. This is not as difficult as it may sound to the carnivores among us; food stalls set up around the shrines offer a stunning array of delicious foods, all of it veggy.

For those who want to join in whole-heartedly, there are other rules, too, which may be seen at the official website, here. Bring your camera. The gods often seem to be strangely attached to having their photo taken.  And bring an umbrella – October in Phuket can bring with it weather that Noah would recognise.