More traditional Songkran.

Bangla Road in the middle of Patong will again be the centre of attention for the 2011 Songkran festival from 13-15 April.

Prepare yourself by dressing down to the bare essentials, arming yourself with colourful water pistols/guns and be prepared to get covered in talcum powder plus getting very, very wet.

Songkran is Thailand’s traditional New Year and is generally celebrated by visitors and Thais alike by throwing and squirting water at each other. For many Thais Songkran also has a more traditional feel by paying respect to elders, including family members, friends and neighbours.

Don't wear your Sunday best for this.

But for many visitors it is basically a time for a gigantic water fight–and Bangla Road in Patong will be the centre of activity for this on Wednesday, 13 April.

The water is meant as a symbol of washing away all that is bad. As April is Thailand’s hottest month, with temperatures often exceeding 40 Degrees Centigrade or 100F, throwing water at each other in the heat of the day is not a bad idea!

For traditional Thais it is also a time for cleaning and renewal. besides washing household Buddha images, many Thais also take this opportunity to give home a thorough cleaning.

Songkran on Phuket: Head for Famous Bangla Road is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.

Curtis Salgado is cool. See him on Phuket in February.

Curtis Salgado is one cool cat–and he will be in Phuket for the Phuket International Blues Rock Festival from 25-26 February, 2011 at the Hilton Hotel, Kata Beach.

Salgado, who will headline the festival, is credited as being the man who inspired and mentored John Belushi for his role in The Blues Brothers mega hit movie.

Salgado won the coveted Male Artist of the year 2010 at the Blues Foundation Awards in Memphis, Tennessee. Charlie Musselwhite, who headlined the festival last year, has also been nominated for an award at the 2011 awards, known as the Oscars of the blues industry.

Salgado’s story has a Lance Armstrong ring about it. Just as the great cyclist beat cancer, so Salgado was diagnosed with liver cancer and told he had eight months to live unless he had a liver transplant. No money, no life.

Enter the likes of Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal, the Phantom Blues Band and many more legends of blues, friends of Salgado’s who raised the money through benefits, auctions and private donations. Two years after the diagnosis Salgado was declared “clean.”

Other leading acts at the Festival include Mason Ruffner who will bring his band from new Orleans. Ruffner has performed with Bob Dylan and toured with U2, Jimmy Page, Ringo Starr, Crosby, Stills and Nash and many others.  He wrote “Angel Love,” a song made famous by Santana.

Blues Brothers John Belushi’s Inspiration To Play Phuket Jazz Festival is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.

Comedian, juggler, monocyclist and balloon artist Jeremy Eaton from Canada. Just check out the faces in the crowd.

It was shuffling room only in some parts of the old town as tens of thousands of people thronged the streets of the old town of the annual Phuket Old Town Festival.

But with six stages dotted around the old town, there was plenty to keep the crowds well amused. At each stage there were three street performances, from Thailand and many other countries – jugglers, comedians, magicians and buskers of all sorts.

And there was food enough to feed the Golden Hordes – just huge amounts of it, all delicious.

The festival runs until Sunday night, with performances starting at around 5pm. Thalang Rd, Krabi Rd, and Thepkrassatri Rd from the Dibuk Rd junction  to the roundabout are off-limits to vehicles of all kinds, with traffic jammed in all the surrounding roads as drivers sought parking spaces.

Best advice: get someone else to do the driving, and be prepared for a long walk from and to where the car is parked. But very well worth the trek. More pictures below to whet your appetite.

Abducted by aliens?

An island of quiet concentration.

Bright lanterns, with the Thalang Rd dragon.

Juice bar, Phuket-style.

Oh won't you satay-ayayayay just a little bit longer?

The rapt crowd watches a performer at Stage 1, next to the TAT offices.

Sweet stuff

Phuket Old Town Festival under way is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.

Phuket's Chinese community frequently celebrate their culture - in this case with a dance performance during a street party in the old town.

A rich vein of overseas Chinese influence runs through Thai life, and nowhere more so than in Phuket – witness the annual Vegetarian Festival, based around the Chinese “san jao” temples, or the Sino-Portuguese architecture of the oldest part of Phuket Town.

Members of Southeast Asia’s Peranakan (overseas Chinese, also known as Baba-Nyonya) community are very active in preserving their heritage and a central part of this is the annual Baba-Nyonya Convention, which rotates through the various Peranakan centres of Phuket,  Penang, Singapore, Melaka and Medan. This year’s, the 23rd, will be staged in Phuket, at the Royal Phuket Marina, next Sunday, November 21.

Leaders of Phuket's Peranakan community at a press conference today to announce the 23rd Baba Nyonya Convention. From left, Asst Prof Pranee Sakulpipatana, Phuket Town Mayor Somjai Suwannasuppana and Dr Kosol Taeng-uthai, president of the Thai Peranakan Association.

Most of the seats for the convention will be allocated to delegations from those places and from the Chinese community in  Melbourne, but a hundred or more seats will be available for members of the public who want to learn more about this influential part of Phuket society.

The day starts at 9am with orchestral renditions of compositions by HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej, followed by a performance of classic Thai “Kone” dance, featuring scenes from the Ramayana.

In the afternoon, Assistant Professor Dr Yongtanit Pimonsatean of the faculty of architecture and planning at Thammasat University, who is also a consultant to the Phuket Town Municipality, will talk about the architecture of Phuket Old Town.

Typical baba-style tiara, woven from gold thread.

He will be followed by Anurak Thansiriroj, MD of the Phuket International Hospital and Honorary Consul of the Czech Republic,who will talk about Phuket’s first hotel, the On On, which was built by his family.

Baba Jarin Neeranatwarodom from Takuapa will then talk about  silver and gold metallic thread tiaras for Baba women. K. Jarin makes these tiaras the traditional way. All the presentations will be in English or will be translated into English.

In the evening, participants will move to the Baan Thai restaurant for dinner and entertainment including an elephant show, traditional Ramwong dancing, a Miss Loy Kratong pageant and the flowting of kratongs.

The whole day, including coffee breaks, lunch and dinner costs B1,000. Tickets may be obtained from the Peranakan Assocation offices at  61 Satun Rd, Phuket Town (click here to see map) or may be booked by emailing Piyarat Kulvanich.

Peranakan Convention – feast for Phuket history buffs is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.

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.

Premiered in Phuket, ‘Bitter/Sweet’ sets new movie standard is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.

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.

Not quite Cannes: Film fest kicks off with a party is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.

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.

Phuket’s own full moon party is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.

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.

Phuket Film Festival takes shape is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.

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.

Phuket Film Festival on again is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.

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.

Old Phuket Festival offers a feast of entertainment is an article from: Phuket Observer - Phuket lifestyle magazine.