Mae La has been home to more than 40,000 refugees for more than 30 years. Lives supposedly “inbetween” have become permanent while the camp has acquired features of a city: dynamic, vibrant, with more facilities and more mobility for refugees than one would expect.

This project is a semi-longitudinal work over a four-year timespan, produced in an artistic and ethnographic context. It started with personal curiosity and later developed into a tribute to the fascinating individuals of Mae La who shared their stories with the makers.

The short film presents a personal reflection on the lives of refugees in long-term camps, for whom the camp has become their home and raises questions about issues of citizenship, statelessness, nationality and permanent residency.

Produced by designer and filmmaker Belle Phromchanya and anthropologist Jiraporn Laocharoenwong, the documentary has recently been screened at the Pakhuis de Zwijger cultural centre in Amsterdam. After the screening in Thailand, there will be an informal Q&A discussion with both makers and Matcha Phornin, a human and gender rights activist who works on issues of statelessness with refugees and other marginalised communities.

This event is part of the series “Displaced and Uprooted in Southeast Asia” in collaboration with TIFA Foundation. The series aims to give visibility to the fate of displaced persons, asylum seekers and refugees in the region and stimulate public discussion on inclusive policy and intervention responses to forced movements of people.

The event is free, but donations are welcome to enable SEA Junction to continue its activities and keep events accessible to the public.

For more information and reservations, please call (097) 002 4140 or email southeastasiajunction@gmail.com.

The Italian Film Festival returns to town next week for its fifth edition and this year will be screening a total of 10 recent movies, by both established director and rookies.

Organised by Dante Alighieri Cultural Association and sponsored by Generali Thailand, the event is part of the annual “Italian Festival Thailand” and is set to run from May 16 to 26.

The festival opens at Scala Theatre next Thursday at 9pm with “Forever You” (“Un’Avventura”), a 2019 musical film by Marco Danieli. Set in the 1970s, it centres on Matteo. He has been secretly in love with Francesca since they were kids, but she left the small town in which they grew up to travel the world. Now she’s back and Matteo decides to finally make her fall in love with him, even if she’s no longer the simple girl he remembered. The film is in Italian with English and Thai subtitles. The second screening will be at Cinema Oasis on May 25 at 9.30pm.

Other films, all screening at Cinema Oasis on Sukhumvit Soi 43 (BTS Phrompong) and in Italian with English subtitles, are as follows:

Romolus & Remus – The First King (2019)

This tale with no narrative precedents brings the viewer to an unknown world where the forces of nature and primitive humanity intertwine with the beliefs and superstitions that ruled life at that time. In the Eighth century BC, the area spanning the banks of the Tiber and the hills of Lazio is occupied only by rudimentary villages. This is a wild world open to exploration and conquest and one day will witness the founding of Rome. Here everybody fights to survive, and the universe of beliefs, mysticism and religion is the only means for men to understand the world.

Friday May 17, 9pm

Saturday May 25, 7pm

Capri – Revolution

It is 1914, and Italy is about to go to war. A commune of young North Europeans has found on Capri the ideal place to live their lives and practise their art. But the island has its own powerful identity, in the person of a young woman, a goatherd named Lucia (Marianna Fontana). The film describes the encounter between Lucia, the commune, headed by Seybu (Reinout Scholten van Aschat), and the young village doctor (Antonio Folletto).

Sunday May 19, 9pm

Friday May 24, 9pm

Happy As Lazzaro

Lazzaro is such a purehearted young man that many would consider him to be an idiot. He might be a peasant but he’s worthy enough for the friendship of spoiled aristocrat Tancredi. They find joy in a forgotten pastoral world of deception and lies. The truth will separate them, but Lazzaro’s loyalty will withstand the test of time when he is catapulted alone into a bleak metropolis.

Saturday May 18, 9pm

Sunday May 26, 9pm

The Strange Sound of Happiness

After years of drifting, Diego returns to Sicily. His dream of becoming a musician has not worked out. He has no job and no plans for the future but the sound of an ancient musical instrument, the mouth harp, points the way. From the torrid coasts of Sicily, Diego journeys to the frozen flatlands of Yakutia in Siberia where he becomes part of a prophecy from a century ago.

Saturday May 18, 7pm

Wednesday May 22, 9pm

Sunday May 26, 5pm

Travelling with Adele

Adele, a 25-year-old girl with a mental disorder, has never met her father and has always lived under the protective wing of her mother Margherita.

Everything changes when her very existence is overturned by the latter’s sudden and unexpected death. Abandoned by all her relatives, Adele will meet Aldo, 65, an actor who was summoned to Apulia in order to pay his last respects to the deceased. Aldo discovers that he is the girl’s biological father and he must tell her the truth. And so begins a journey through an inhospitable Apulia in which two perfect strangers transform an improbable relationship into something unique and unforgettable, one that by degrees resembles what they never thought they could be together: a father and daughter.

Friday May 17, 7pm

Thursday May 23, 5pm

Sunday May 26, 7pm at Cinema Oasis

We’ll Be Young And Beautiful

(Comedy, student film)

Isabella still sings “Tic Tac”, the song that made her famous in the early nineties, when she was only seventeen. Her place is the Big Star, which has also become her second home. Her young son Bruno is her guitarist. The two are inseparable, they perform every night together and they share a ramshackle but happy life of unpaid bills and midnight strolls around the city. Bruno, however, dreams of a different musical career.

Sunday May 19, 7pm

Thursday May 23, 9pm

Saturday May 25, 5pm

Wherever You Are

When Alessandro wears his shiny lucky shirt, he doesn’t feel his age. But after a life wasted on a slot machine, already drunk early in the morning, hoping for the luck of a scratch card, he would never have imagined that love could find him. In a hospital. It’s here, that he meets Francesca. Big green eyes, melancholy and bright, spontaneous as a child and with two ship tickets in her pocket. Alessandro and Francesca are finally out of the hospital, on their way to a last chance.

Wednesday May 22, 5pm

Friday May 24, 7pm

Sunday, May 26, 3pm

The Start-Up

Almost every adolescent dreams of inventing an app. Teenager Matteo creates a social platform where people negotiate job offers. At the beginning, no one believes in his project, but Matteo never loses his faith, and, in the end, he succeeds. At the age of 19, he suddenly receives national praise and becomes rich and popular. His ‘Start Up,’ which includes dozens of thousands of subscribers, becomes appealing to the most important companies. Success will soon take its toll.

Saturday May 18, 5pm

Wednesday May 22, 7pm

Friday May 24, 5pm

There is a Light

A touching road movie about parenthood, responsibility and finding your limits. Mia, a pregnant, vagrant singer, meets Paolo, a sensible and heartbroken gay man, in a club and the pair hit it off immediately. Borrowing a company van, they embark on an epic roadtrip from the north to the south of Italy. Can the pair find happiness on the run?

Sunday May 19, 5pm

Thursday May 23, 7pm

Saturday, May 25 3pm

For more than two decades Dr Larry Nassar was the osteopathic physician for the US women’s Olympic gymnastics team, as well as a physician at Michigan State University (MSU). During that time, he sexually abused hundreds of female athletes.

Offering insights that go beyond the sensational headlines, the documentary reveals a dangerous system that prioritised winning over everything else, including protecting young female athletes.

Through interviews with dozens of survivors, as well as coaches, lawyers, journalists and Judge Rosemarie Aquilina, the film exposes an environment in which young women spent their youth competing for victory on a world stage, juxtaposed against a culture where abuse was hidden, and lives were forever damaged.

For more than 20 years, Dr Larry Nassar worked with athletes, especially gymnasts, as a respected trainer and team physician. He taught Sunday school, volunteered in the community and was seemingly well liked. While Nassar tended to aches and pains, becoming a friend and confidant to many girls along the way, some of the methods he presented as treatment were sexual abuse.

For years, accusations and evidence grew against the doctor, as several young women came forward to their coaches, universities and parents. At Michigan State, mounting evidence suggested that reports of Nassar’s improper treatments, which sometimes occurred when parents were present, were dismissed by officials who chose to defend the popular doctor.

In 2016, after Rachael Denhollander went public with her story in the Indianapolis Star, the tide finally began to turn against Nassar, as more and more women filed lawsuits against him and the institutions that had shielded him for so long.

Nassar was subsequently fired from MSU. In 2017, he pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography after 37,000 images were found on his computer. He eventually also pleaded guilty to abuse charges in Michigan, with the understanding that another 125 cases would not be tried. After one of the most highprofile trials in recent history, Nassar was found guilty and is currently in federal prison.

In January 2018, Ingham County sentencing, 88 survivors had been scheduled to make statements. By the end of that week, 156 women, all with a shared history of abuse, had bravely come forward. Chelsea Zerfas spoke of the impact of the trauma and her journey to heal, stating, “I get scared that I will be taken advantage of once again by another doctor, just like you did. I’ve tried my best to gain back the strength I once had. I am a survivor. Here I am today facing my abuser. I’m finally being heard. I’m no longer hiding my story.”

Trinea Gonczar, another survivor and a longtime family friend of Nassar, said to her abuser, “You hurt me, as I’ve had to realise I was abused for many years of my life…I will do everything for the rest of my life to make sure that the ‘you’s’ of this world don’t get to hurt another one of us.”

After a week of powerful testimonies, Judge Rosemarie Aquilina meted out a 175year sentence, effectively imprisoning Nassar for life. Because so many survivors went public, some of the institutions and athletic organisations that protected Nassar, began to implement changes.

In March 2018, MSU agreed to a $500 million settlement for athletes abused by Nassar. In October 2018, Steve Penny, former president of USA Gymnastics, was arrested for tampering with evidence in the Nassar case. His case is still pending.

Congress went on to pass legislation enforcing mandatory reporting of sexual abuse in amateur sports. One week after Nassar’s sentencing, the entire board of USA Gymnastics resigned. One month later, Scott Blackmun stepped down as the chief executive of the United States Olympic Committee, an organisation that also moved to decertify USA Gymnastics as the sport’s governing body.

“Bruce Lee’s vision is alive and well,” Amato said of the series that combines high-energy martial arts with wit and brains. We’re thrilled to renew such a great show for a second season.”

Based on the writings of martial arts legend Lee, “Warrior” was created by and is executive produced by Jonathan Tropper, executive produced by Justin Lin for Perfect Storm Entertainment and executive produced by Shannon Lee for Bruce Lee Entertainment.

“Warrior” is a gritty, action-packed crime drama set during the brutal Tong Wars of San Francisco’s Chinatown in the second half of the 19th century. The series follows Ah Sahm (Andrew Koji), a martial arts prodigy who emigrates from China to San Francisco under mysterious circumstances. After proving his worth as a fighter, Ah Sahm becomes a hatchet man for the Hope Wei, one of Chinatown’s most powerful Tongs (Chinese organised crime family).

Among the critical raves for the current season, which shows at the same time as the US every Saturday at 9am on Cinemax, Rolling Stone called the show a “lush action drama” where “the legend becomes fact in an unexpected, wonderful way with all of the bells and whistles of modern TV,” while IGN praised the series for its “efficient, energetic, and enjoyable [ability to bring] American history to vivid life with verve, intelligence, and memorable fists of fury” and “thoughtful political edge”,

In Thailand, the series is available on HBO GO via AIS Play and AIS Playbox.

Midea teams up with talented director Nattawut of “Bad Genius” and J. Walter Thompson Bangkok to create an emotional story about Paola Antonini, a Brazilian model who lost her left leg in a car accident but never ceased to pursue her dream, according to its press release.

Produced by Houseton Film, “Good Night Paola” follows Antonini’s journey through her treacherous path towards becoming a model, starring Antonini as herself.

Through her story, Midea hopes to inspire consumers to overcome obstacles and reclaim power to pursue their dreams, according to the press release.

“We developed the short film based on the double definitions of ‘dream’. One is the literal ‘dream state’ that occurs at the final stage of sleep and can only be achieved via calm and comfort; the other is a metaphor for realizing ‘dreams’ in life,” said Pete – Thasorn Boonyanate, Creative Director of J. Walter Thompson Bangkok.

“We interlinked these two definitions with Midea residential AC’s commitment to providing consumers not only cooling comfort for a restful night, but also refreshing energy to power through real-life challenges.”

“The film ‘Good Night Paula’ is also part of Midea’s global campaign #NoHeatCanBeatYourDreams to encourage consumers to brave through any ‘heat’ in their lives in pursuit of their own ‘dream states’.”

Globally, people encounter different obstacles in pursuing their dreams, including social pressure, financial difficulties, and physical limitations. In Thailand, approximately three percent of population are people with disabilities1, who have been fighting for equal rights and opportunities to fulfill their dreams.

“The #NoHeatCanBeatYourDreams campaign aims to encourage our audiences to overcome obstacles for their cherished dreams.” says Tony Liu, General Manager of Midea Air Conditioner Business Unit. “Midea residential AC is always there to protect your ‘dream state’ through any source of ‘heat’ in life.”

Launched in Thailand, one of Midea’s key markets in ASEAN, this campaign will later be hosted in Latin America. The film can be viewed online at https://youtu.be/OtD0Z8o2P8Y. For more information about Midea Thailand, please visit https://th.midea.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=417891829002769

 Two years have passed since the Thai-Korean joint venture CJ Major Entertainment released its debut project “20 Mai U-turn Wai Hua Jai Re-Turn (“Suddenly Twenty”) but now it’s back and is making its presence felt with the upcoming release of three interesting movie projects before the end of the year.

First up is the romantic comedy “Rak 2 Pee Yindee Khuen Ngern”(“Love Battle”) slated to hit screens on June 20. Set in an office and based on a South Korean script, it’s directed by Wirat Henkongdee of Tohklom Television fame, who made his directorial debut with “Super Salaryman” back in 2012.

The second film is due out on September 19, with Chookiat Sakveerakul writing and directing the romance currently dubbed “That March” that stars Sukollawat Kanarot and Yarinda Bunnag.

The highlight though is the third project “Classic Again”, which is set for release in the fourth quarter this year. It’s a highly anticipated remake of “The Classic”, one of the most successful Korean movies ever to screen in Thailand.

Choi Yeonu, managing director of CJ Major Entertainment, says the past two years have been spent on preparing these projects.

“We learnt a lot from ‘Suddenly 20’. We have studied the market and looked hard at whether audience preferences and then put the time into preparing movies that are likely to please,” she says.

“‘Suddenly 20’ was a remake of CJ’s Korean movie hit “Miss Granny” and a good example of our universal story with local creation approach. We’ve used this same focus for seven movies.”

CJ Major Entertainment is a joint venture between Major Group, the largest movie theatre in Thailand and CJ ENM, the biggest content creator in South Korea and the parent company of CJ Entertainment.

Son Ye-jin and Jo In-sung in a scene from hit South Korean movie hit “The Classic”, which is being remade in a Thai version as “Classic Again”. 

CJ Entertainment is a leading international film production and distribution company that co-produces critically acclaimed and commercially successful Hollywood, Thai, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Chinese and Turkish movies. These include “The Age of Shadow”, “A Bitter Sweet Life”, “Master” and “Veteran”. Ten years ago, they realised that their successful films were drawing global audiences because people of different races, nationalities or religion could relate to them.

“Those contents are universal because every country has one commonality – it is home to women, men, adults and children. We believe there are core values that human beings share, such as happiness, sadness, love and excitement – emotions that we all try to find in films. This belief led us to trigger global productions and to join up with Major Group in Thailand,” she says.

And just because no films have come out over the past two years doesn’t mean the company hasn’t been hard at work. They’ve collaborated with filmmakers from Major’s affiliated film companies on many projects and Choi is full of praise for Thai crews and the working system.

“When I work with writers and directors we are very open. We lay out all the stories that we have and pick the best one. A lot of the directors know about CJ Entertainment’s movies and will often propose a remake of such-and-such a title,” Choi explains.

To achieve its goals, CJ Major Entertainment focuses both on universal stories and local partners, producing content that resonates with everyone and goes beyond cultural boundaries. This highlights the company’s expertise in creating great content whether from original stories or movies in other territories outside Korea. For example, a film originally made in Korea can be recreated as a Thai film with a Thai setting, a Thai director and Thai actors.

Directed by Chookiat Sakveerakul, the romantic drama “That March” stars Sukollawat Kanarot and Yarinda Bunnag and reflects on how the love story lived by an adolescent boy completely changes his life. It arrives in cinema on September 19.

“A great story will work anywhere,” Choi stresses. “All audiences want stories that inspire and excite them. CJ Major Entertainment’s job is to develop great stories and put great effort into localising them to reach out to the Thai audience and the wider Asean region.”

The joint venture has also spent time researching everything from box office to audience behaviour. Thailand is seen as having high growth potential and a deep pool of talented creators. Last year, the total gross box office in the Asean region was nearly Bt38 billion. Meanwhile the total gross box office in South Korea was more than Bt49 billion. This indicates the viability of Thailand’s market growth once the momentum is initiated by supplying quality local content and thus developing greater audience demand.

Most of the top Thai box office earners are Hollywood movies,” Choi notes. “Why is that? Because a good script, production and acting are key ingredients in the recipe for success. However there are still some barriers. That’s the first reason why CJ Major Entertainment was established. The second reason is we are always seeking hidden creators. There are so many great writers and directors in Asia including in Thailand who are waiting for their opportunity but have waited too long because the market isn’t big enough or strong enough to support them yet. There are also many great producers who want to try something different but can’t seem to find a way because the studios are unwilling to risk trying something new.”

Choi sees Thai audience as very open to different movie genres. “That’s very different from Vietnam and Indonesia. Indonesians right now love watching horror films. I think Thais like to watch something different, which makes them a harder target as tastes are so varied. But, of course, that really motivates us to make more creative content.”

Choi Yeonu, managing director of CJ Major Entertainment

Ask Thai moviegoers which studio brand they trusted when they watch a Thai movie and the answer will inevitably GDH. Choi says that merely reflects the fact that overall number of the films made per year is not that high. “If a lot of serious studios decided to make more movies, audiences would be more indifferent to the brand, basing their decisions on the genre they felt like watching.

“CJ Major’s strategy does not end at just providing more quality films but extends to circulating our stories and Thailand’s talent on the international market. We want to move ahead together and show that our Thai content and creators can also be successful in other significant markets,” she stresses.

Choi adds that the company’s strategic partnerships with local creators are key to winning domestic audiences. “Understanding the Thai sentiment and delivering messages within the Thai cultural context are very important. By collaborating with local partners, we can get closer to the audience and the market. We are very fortunate to be working hand in hand with diverse creators and partners here,” she says.

Of the three projects coming out this year, two have their origins in Korean content. Choi says that neither is a scene-by-scene remake, more of a recreation of a story similar to “Miss Granny”.

For example, Choi describes “Classic Again” as a recreation of the acclaimed romantic drama “The Classic”, which was an overwhelming success in Thailand despite being on limited release.

Directed by Tatchapong Supasri, the re-envisioned version portrays college friends Bota (Ranchrawee Uakoolwarawut) and Poppy, both of whom have a crush on Non (Thitipoom Techaapaikhun). Unaware that her friend likes the same guy, Poppy asks Bota to write a screenplay for her in which she and Non will play the main protagonists. The play draws Poppy and Non closer together and Bota starts to feel uncomfortable. While cleaning the attic, Bota finds a secret box in which her mother kept the memorabilia of her first love story. Bota discovers that the story of her mom’s first love is strikingly parallel to her own. But even as she feels a little odd about the similarities, her feelings towards Non grow and a series of events tests her true emotions.

“It’s very challenging and we’ve had to work closely with the director, as he is not there to replicate the story. We haven’t copied the original movie as the original ‘Classic’ has a totally different cast. Our aim is to make the film even better. So while the main theme of the story remains, it is essentially a brand new Thai movie with similar sentiments,” she says.

“Love Battle”, meanwhile, which more or less sticks to the Korean script, tells the story of Tan (Prama Imanothai) who comes up with a new insurance policy called Love Insurance after his girlfriend betrays him. The insurance guarantees policyholders a 100-per-cent return of their payment with 30-per-cent interest if they don’t break up for two years after signing the contract. The new policy receives lots of attention but Tan is challenged by the board to collect data proving that most of policyholders will break up before the two- year limit. Incurable romantic Jeed is assigned to work with Tan to collect the data and thus begins a battle of wills.

“That March” is the only original script and was developed by director Chookiat whose previous successes include “Rak Hang Siam” (“Love Of Siam”). The film begins when a 37-year-old Pob moves back to his hometown after the failure of his business. With his supportive wife (Yarinda), he starts to work as a teacher at his old school. Pob left both school and town behind when he furthered his own studies, grateful to escape his conservative Chinese background and strict rules, but the memories soon start flooding back.

The alliance will allow iflix to distribute JTBC’s premium content across Asia, setting the stage for further collaborations that may include coproductions in iflix markets.

JTBC has built its reputation as the source of South Korea’s fresh, youth-centric content that boldly embraces new formats. With its dramas, the company has made history for tackling complex and controversial themes, as well as setting viewership records in South Korea.

As part of the deal JTBC’s most popular content will be featured on iflix for free, including popular South Korean dramas “Welcome to Waikiki 2” and “The Wind Blows”, as well as top variety shows such as “Men on a Mission” and “Chef and My Fridge”, just one month following their Korean broadcasts.

In addition to premium catchup TV, JTBC will also contribute an extensive library, exceeding 500 hours of toprated dramas, including “Sky Castle”, “Cleaning with Passion Now”, “ID: Gangnam Beauty” and “Ms Hammuribi”, to iflix, which will also be available to all iflix viewers for free.

The explosive growth of Korean dramas has propelled the genre into the mainstream even outside South Korea.

Mark Britt, iflix cofounder and group chief executive, said” “JTBC is a powerhouse in Korea, producing exciting new content that reflects the dynamic Korean entertainment industry. We are thrilled to welcome JTBC to the iflix family as investors and collaborators in our commitment to providing our viewers the most compelling free content in the region.”

Kyungmoon Jung, chief executive officer of JTBC Content Hub, commented: “iflix is a leading OTT service provider in Southeast Asia, and is providing quality content all over the region through its innovative platform. We are very glad that we could partner with iflix through this transaction. With its fast-growing economy and attractive demographics, Southeast Asia has always been one of the most important regions to JTBC. Through iflix, we hope more and more SEA people enjoy JTBC’s exciting and trendleading content”.

Learn more at https://blog.iflix.com

Airing every Tuesday at 8am, with a same day encore at 9pm, the five-part mini-series stars Jared Harris, Stellan Skarsgard and Emily Watson. The series is available in Thailand on HBO GO via AIS Play and AIS Playbox.

“Chernobyl” is written, created and executive produced by Craig Mazin and directed by Johan Renck (“Breaking Bad”).

On April 26, 1986, the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, Soviet Union suffered a massive explosion that released radioactive material across Ukraine, Belarus and Russia, and as far as Scandinavia and western Europe.

Jared Harris portrays Valery Legasov, a leading Soviet nuclear physicist. As part of the response team, he is one of the first to grasp the scope of the unparalleled disaster that has occurred. Stellan Skarsgard plays Soviet Deputy Prime Minister Boris Shcherbina, who is assigned by the Kremlin to lead the government commission on Chernobyl in the hours immediately following the accident. Emily Watson portrays Ulana Khomyuk, a Soviet nuclear physicist committed to solving the mystery of what led to the Chernobyl disaster.

The miniseries also stars Paul Ritter as Chernobyl deputy chief engineer Anatoly Dyatlov, Jessie Buckley as Lyudmilla Ignatenko, a Pripyat resident married to a firefighter on the first response team and Adrian Rawlins (“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”) as Chernobyl chief engineer.

Since 2016, royal observers and cinephiles have been able to view a 15-minute film capturing a few exquisite moments of King Rama VII’s coronation on the Thai Film Archive’s YouTube channel. Recorded 94 years ago, and marking the first time a coronation has ever been recorded in moving pictures, the frames were carefully preserved and restored. Now, to celebrate the upcoming coronation of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn, a further 30 minutes of footage has been unveiled and offers an even closer look at the intricate details of that royal ceremony.

Both films are silent and black-and-white with surtitles. Even so, the audiences of today will find it difficult to fully comprehend what is being shown in the frames.

During a recent screening, historian Asst Professor Dinar Boontharm from Chulalongkorn’s Faculty of Arts, and film archivist Dome Sukwong gave a talk to explain the rituals shown in the film, how it was created and discovered.

During the talk, Dinar noted the similarities and differences in the ceremonies during King Rama VII’s coronation in 1925 and that of King Rama IX in 1950 – the result of a change from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional one following the 1932 revolution and advent of World War II.

He also pointed out that the footage from the two coronations provides a valuable insight into the history and evolution of the ceremony and history of the Rattanakosin period.

The crew from the Film Department under of the Royal State Railways of Siam (RSR) who went on to become major figures in Thai film history. From left (in white dress), Krasian Wasuwat, Khun Patiphakphimlikhit (Pleng Tripin), Luang Karnjenjit (Phao Wasuwat). /Photo courtesy of Thai Film Archive 

“Before the 1925 film, coronation ceremonies were only summarised in written chronicles and still pictures,” he explained.

The coronation ceremony is highly influenced by Hindu precepts, with evidence suggesting the rites began taking their present form in the 13th century, during the Sukhothai Period then carried on into the Ayutthaya era. After founding the Chakri Dynasty and making Bangkok the capital in 1782, King Rama I re-examined the coronation records from the late Ayutthaya period and revised the procedures for the rites of accession, which have been used ever since.

Throughout the coronations of the Chakri Dynasty, certain procedures and details have been adopted from different influences and gradually adjusted. The coronation of Queen Victoria of England, held 13 years prior to that of King Rama IV, had a significant influence on the ceremony. For instance, while the king didn’t wear the crown as in the West, placing emphasis instead on purification and anointment, he ordered an officer of the court to purchase a large diamond from Calcutta, India, and had it placed at the top of the crown, much like that of Queen Victoria’s.

The coronation of King Rama VII was recorded on 35mm nitrate film which, while known for the beauty of its images, was also unstable and apt to deteriorate in high temperatures and humidity. The process of deterioration also gave off potentially flammable fumes. That meant the unseen footage had a mixed quality with plenty of fragmentation and the archive had its work cut out editing and choose the best frames.

The film, the oldest surviving motion picture of the coronation, was made by the Royal State Railways of Siam’s film department, which was granted access to the Grand Palace for the first time.

The Royal State Railways’ film department was like the Government Public Relations Department of today. Some of its staff travelled to Hollywood to learn about filmmaking and on return, started shooting events for newsreels. Like elsewhere, moving pictures were seen as the best media to reach the general public.

“Newspapers were popular only in big cities,” says archivist Dome.

Old films discovered in 1981 in an old building belonging to the State Railway of Thailand were mostly in poor condition./Photo courtesy of Thai Film Archive 

King Rama VII’s coronation was screened for the general public. Two versions of the film were made: a five-roll 35mm version that was screened outdoors at the Wang Phayathai (now part of Phramongkutklao Hospital), which was an hour long; and a 15-minute version that the Film Department re-edited and sold to those who wanted it as a collectible.

The coronation film inspired British archaeologist Horace Geoffrey Quaritch Wales, a state officer who was granted permission by King Rama VII to use for his thesis while serving out his posting in Siam. Wales, who went on to become a professor in archaeology and Southeast Asian history at the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies, published his thesis titled “Siamese State Ceremonies” in 1931. This was later translated into Thai.

However, the coronation films went unnoticed until 1966, when a copy of the 15-minute version was donated to the National Library by Prince Prem Purachatra as a gift to honour the plan to set up a movie archive department. Prince Prem Purachatra was the son of HRH Prince of Kamphaengphet, the first president of the Royal State Railways of Siam, who held the position when the coronation film was made.

Though the film archive department was not founded as planned, the movie has been preserved since then.

In 1981, Dome went in search for the first film made in Thailand – believed to have been done during King Rama VII’s reign. That led him to the offices of the State Railway of Thailand at Hua Lampong where he found 500 reels that had been left to rot. Among them was the footage of King Rama VII’s coronation.

The discovery marked the beginning of the campaign to preserve old films and eventually led to the birth of the National Film Archive in 1984, which became Thai Film Archive (Public Organisation) in 2009.

The complete 15-minute coronation movie, the 30-minute unseen footage as well as the discussion on coronation films can be seen on Thai Film Archive’s YouTube channel.