RECENT & NOTABLE PRESS
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Financing Forum to pick up almost $15,000 in production funds.
Azizuddin will receive $10,000 in pro- duction funds for Angkat, described as a fractious relationship” as they trav- el together to return the body of their dead father for burial in their remote village.
The money comes from the Aurora Producing Award, backed by Singa- - rora Media Holdings.
Courtesy of Luang Prabang Film Festival Sondak will receive $1,500 for the pro- duction of the documentary The Lady Jaime Habac Jr. with TFI’s Michelle Hamada of the Hills while award sponsor Indo- Philippine director Jaime Habac Jr Lab organizers said the workshop fo- china Productions will also arrange for will head to the Tribeca Film Insti- cused on “the art of the pitch” while tute’s Network market with a project also featuring “collaborative pitch mentor. that follows the fortunes of aging training and feedback sessions with in- gay performers who are booted out dustry professionals.” There were six projects in various stag- of their home. es of development selected by LPFF, The program’s Indochina Productions’ and they came from four ASEAN coun- Filipino director Jaime Habac Jr will Rising Star Award was meanwhile giv- tries in Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philip- be taking the musical comedy-drama en to Thai producer Ladawan Sondak’s pines and Thailand. All those involved Golden for further development at documentary Lady of the Hills. will now be given preferential consid- next year’s edition of the Tribeca Film eration for any of TFI’s grants as TFI Institute’s Network market. Habac’s feature follows the fortunes of program alumni. a group of gay seniors who devise a The news comes at the end of the 2019 drag act after being kicked out of their Luang Prabang Film Festival (LPFF) Tal- home. ent Lab, which focused three days on grant writing and project pitching, and The director will now attend the TFI was led by the Tribeca Film Institute. Network market at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival (April 15-26, 2020), with - maker Feisal Azizuddin’s dark com- to the completion of his project. edy Angkat took out the top awards at this year’s lab, which was hosted It’s been a big month for the team at the northern Laotian city’s Avani+ behind Golden, with producer Omar Luang Prabang resort. Sortijas having been on hand at Singa- pore’s Southeast Asian Film ‘Mekong 2030’ Anthology to Focus On Plight Of Mekong River
- dia) Soul River is a cautionary tale framed as a lighthearted road (or, rath- er, river) movie. Set in 2030 in a remote northeast region of Cambodia, it urges contemporary audiences to reconsider their attitudes toward environmental degradation and the impact of climate change on the Mekong basin.
Courtesy of Luang Prabang Film Festival - Filmmakers (from left) Sai Naw Kham, Kulikar Sotho and Anysay Keola. A new Luang Prabang Film Festival sioning the condition of the river — was raised. There, he intervenes in a which carves its course through China, dispute between his siblings over the Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia ethics of exploiting their elderly moth- and Vietnam — as well as the commu- er’s blood. The blood has become a nities that depend on it. valuable commodity to a Western cor- Five Southeast Asian directors will poration that has been developing a present their visions — and fears — for The river has come under increasing cure for a deadly plague outbreak. the future of the Mekong river, one of threat from pollution and from a series Asia’s most vital waterways, through of massive dams, according to the Me- - the anthology , which is kong River Commission (MRC). set to tour the world’s festival circuit next year. “We need to address these issues now to claim their lost spirits’ attachment in order to minimize further environ- to the Mekong River, while channeling “I heard about global warming and mental harm and protect remaining community resilience toward its pro- climate change and stuff like that, but wetlands and riverine habitats before tection. that was just hearing. Being on the they are gone, while leveraging the shoot myself, on the river, only then The Line did I realize that it’s actually coming optimal and sustainable development open a new exhibition focusing on ani- Kulikar Sotho, part of the project and of the Mekong basin,” said Dr. An Pich mism and river ecology, the boundaries previously a Special Jury Award winner Hatda, CEO of the MRC secretariat, between the artwork and the world it at Venice for Ruin (2013). at last month’s launch of his organiza- represents begin to merge into a site tion’s “State of the Basin” report. where different forms of knowledge Sotho has been joined on the project converge. by Anysay Keola (Laos), Sai Naw Kham The anthology has been supported by (Myanmar), Anocha Suwichakornpong The Asia Foundation, Oxfam, Heinrich (Thailand) and Pham Ngoc Lân (Viet- Böll Foundation and the MRC. nam). a middle-aged woman traveling up- “LPFF plans to submit these as a col- Initiated by Laos’ Luang Prabang Film lective program to festivals and con- in 30 years, told alongside a story of a Festival (LPFF), the “cross-border” col- ferences across the world, in order to young couple traveling downstream to raise awareness among international a strange temple in search of a cure for with looking to the year 2030 and envi- audiences for the issues addressed in chronic insomnia. ‘The Perilous Odyssey’ and ‘Siri’ Take Top Prizes at Tribeca Talent Lab in Laos
LPFF
Filipino feature ‘The Perilous Od- funding as part of the Aurora Pro- The third edition of the Talent Lab, yssey to Mount Gulsuk,’ will at- ducing Award sponsored by the Sin- which aimed to train Southeast Asian tend the TFI Network market at - the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival, Aurora Media Holdings. ject pitching, was held on Dec. 7-9. while Malaysian drama ‘Siri’ will receive $10,000 in completion funds. Vietnamese director Nguyen Hien The 11 participating projects originate Anh’s QUAY has received the $1,500 from seven countries in the ASEAN The 2018 Luang Prabang Film Festi- Rising Star Award, newly created by region, including Singapore, Vietnam, val (LPFF) Talent Lab in Laos, hosted Bangkok-based Indochina Productions. Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the by the Tribeca Film Institute (TFI), has Philippines and Thailand. presented its top prizes to Filipino di- The Perilous Odyssey to Mount rector Jordan Dela Cruz’s The Perilous Gulsuk follows a teenage father-to- All participants in this year’s Talent Lab Odyssey to Mount Gulsuk and to Siri be’s journey traveling from the Phil- will receive preferential consideration from Malaysian producer Lim Ying Xian. ippines and the Middle East to reach for any future TFI grants. The Perilous Odyssey has been a cure for his sick girlfriend who is picked to attend the TFI Network pregnant with their child. The Tribeca market at the 2019 Tribeca Film Film Institute will mentor Dela Cruz Festival, while Lim’s project was through the completion of his feature. awarded $10,000 in production | Home | Spotlight | Politics & Economy | Business | Markets | Tech & Science | Viewpoints | Life & Arts | Features | Regions |
Life & Arts > Arts
January 1, 2018 5:20 pm JST Laos Film Festival Nurtures Big Screen Dreams Luang Prabang has no cinema, but annual event is attracting growing global attention
RON GLUCKMAN, Contributing writer second feature, which has also generated an editor at the Bangkok Post newspaper and "Raising a Beast" as the winnter in the talent mixture of "Back to the Future" and "Wayne's lab competition, awarding it a mentoring "Shift," was a surprise hit. the scarcity of funding and distribution World." opportunities. Thai cinemas favor Hollywood Film Institute in New York. The prize includes blockbusters over local productions, panel Movies were screened back-to-back, with six members said. They discussed quota systems showing per day, and viewers registering their pitch his project during the next Tribeca Film to prioritize homegrown productions, a approval afterwards. The Audience Choice Festival in New York in April. Award went to "Redha," directed by Mona Riza, nurturing South Korean moviemaking. which was chosen for submission to the U.S. "For me, this is really huge," said the Academy Awards from Malaysia. She also proclaimed the winner of the Talent Lab competition at the participated in the panel, "Muslim Voices of Luang Prabang Film Festival as his producer Abigail Lazaro just after the festival. He is part of Lao New Southeast Asia," which was especially topical takes the microphone. (Courtesy of the Luang Prabang Wave Cinema, a production company, but like in the light of international controversy over Film Festival) many Laotian colleagues he mainly earns his the plight of Myanmar's Muslim Rohingya population. LUANG PRABANG, Laos -- Boating along a Luang Prabang Film Festival founder and director Gabriel serene stretch of the Mekong River near the screen has always been his goal. "I've had this Kuperman hosts a boat trip on the Mekong where the UNESCO World Heritage town of Luang idea in my head for a long time," he said of his screened were at the festival, providing a rare me, just come and see for yourself," she said. "I winners of the Talent Lab were announced. (Photo by Ron Prabang, some passengers were overcome with just loved it. This is such a wonderful festival." Gluckman) emotion. "I screamed," said Xaisongkham In coming months, Induangchanty will be Induangchanty. "We all screamed." Tears helped to hone his proposal, then transported New York Pipedream town, including photographs of historic poured down Siege Ledesma's face. "I cried cinemas in Myanmar, with Philip Jablon, an producers and investors who may be willing to American based in Thailand, speaking about former kingdom of the upper Mekong, began his long-term Southeast Asia Movie Theater Their tears were an expression of joy, unrelated manager of artist programs at Tribeca Film as the pipedream of Gabriel Kuperman, a Project. Jablon has journeyed to remote to the beauty of the surrounding scenery: Both corners of the region to document old succeed," Norbitz said. a backpacking trip in 2008. Charmed by the Censorship is a regional concern, including in cinemas, many under threat, shuttered or since Film Festival in mid-December, where they riverside temples, palaces and colonial estates Thailand, which has been ruled by a military demolished, and will be publishing a book participated in a competition for young dating from the French Indochina period, he government since a coup in 2014. Anocha soon. returned to realize his vision of an Suwichakornpong, a Thai director, said that they were announced as winners. Kuperman praised the participation of but challenging setting. Tribeca, another sign that Southeast Asian Held annually since 2010 in this picturesque for a day by the army on the anniversary of the Mekong town, the festival shows productions Besides the lack of a cinema, Luang Prabang killings. "They never explained why," she said. natural partnership for us, and I really love from across Southeast Asia, even though also struggles with electricity and how they have tapped into what we are doing," Luang Prabang lacks a cinema. Movies are telecommunications. The festival must also he said. He also lauded the increasing level of deal with the reservations of a reticent category in the Oscars, awarded by the U.S. regional co-productions, which was a hot topic Prabang hotel, and in the open air in the main government that remains among the most Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. at the festival. square. In a town of 50,000 people, the conservative of the communist regimes in The Luang event may be the world's only major festival in a Southeast Asia. Induangchanty plans to direct "Raising a town without movie theaters. Open air viewing every night "Burma Storybook," which uses poetry to Beast" when funding is secured, but has also crowds. in the town’s main square attracted big crowds. (Courtesy of the Luang Prabang Film Festival) Yet the festival continues to shine, expanding depict Myanmar's emergence from isolation brought on board Abigail Lazaro from the every year, as Kuperman unveils new programs after decades of military rule, and Philippines, as producer. The pair met at Ledesma's prize was in some ways even more targeted at issues important to Asian "Motherland," a whirlwind tour of the planet's another workshop earlier in Phnom Penh, top features and documentaries from around substantial -- a $10,000 award from Aurora busiest maternity hospital, in the Philippines. Cambodia. Lazaro's co-producer is Southeast Asia, to network, attend panels Media Holdings, a Singapore media given to Laos. Among the programs of short There were commercial features such as Lao-American Steve Arounsack, making this featuring regional and international cinema investment company. Her planned feature, experts and nurture hopes for the big screen. "Cat Island," is set in Japan. She is free to use love story "Saving Sally," from the Philippines. production. the funds as she chooses, but could work with Thailand was featured in the festival's annual such as Induangchanty, who is from Laos, the Aurora to raise additional capital toward her "country spotlight" segment, with forceful Cambodian psycho-thriller "Mind "You can see how fast things are growing in this budget of about $500,000. In any case, the Cage." "Fanatic," a slick comedy about the dreams. prize focuses vital attention on her proposed discussing challenges. Led by Kong Rithdee, Page 1 of 2 | Home | Spotlight | Politics & Economy | Business | Markets | Tech & Science | Viewpoints | Life & Arts | Features | Regions |
Life & Arts > Arts
second feature, which has also generated an editor at the Bangkok Post newspaper and "Raising a Beast" as the winnter in the talent mixture of "Back to the Future" and "Wayne's lab competition, awarding it a mentoring "Shift," was a surprise hit. the scarcity of funding and distribution World." opportunities. Thai cinemas favor Hollywood Film Institute in New York. The prize includes blockbusters over local productions, panel Movies were screened back-to-back, with six members said. They discussed quota systems showing per day, and viewers registering their pitch his project during the next Tribeca Film to prioritize homegrown productions, a approval afterwards. The Audience Choice Festival in New York in April. Award went to "Redha," directed by Mona Riza, nurturing South Korean moviemaking. which was chosen for submission to the U.S. "For me, this is really huge," said the Academy Awards from Malaysia. She also participated in the panel, "Muslim Voices of just after the festival. He is part of Lao New Southeast Asia," which was especially topical Wave Cinema, a production company, but like in the light of international controversy over Philip Jablon exhibited photographs and talked about his many Laotian colleagues he mainly earns his the plight of Myanmar's Muslim Rohingya Southeast Asia Movie Theater Project at the Luang Prabang population. Film Festival. (Photo by Ron Gluckman) LUANG PRABANG, Laos -- Boating along a serene stretch of the Mekong River near the screen has always been his goal. "I've had this UNESCO World Heritage town of Luang idea in my head for a long time," he said of his screened were at the festival, providing a rare me, just come and see for yourself," she said. "I Prabang, some passengers were overcome with just loved it. This is such a wonderful festival." emotion. "I screamed," said Xaisongkham In coming months, Induangchanty will be Induangchanty. "We all screamed." Tears helped to hone his proposal, then transported New York Pipedream town, including photographs of historic poured down Siege Ledesma's face. "I cried cinemas in Myanmar, with Philip Jablon, an producers and investors who may be willing to American based in Thailand, speaking about industry, and across Southeast Asia, during one of several former kingdom of the upper Mekong, began his long-term Southeast Asia Movie Theater panels at the Luang Prabang Film Festival. (Photo by Ron manager of artist programs at Tribeca Film as the pipedream of Gabriel Kuperman, a Project. Jablon has journeyed to remote Their tears were an expression of joy, unrelated Gluckman) to the beauty of the surrounding scenery: Both corners of the region to document old succeed," Norbitz said. a backpacking trip in 2008. Charmed by the Censorship is a regional concern, including in cinemas, many under threat, shuttered or since Film Festival in mid-December, where they riverside temples, palaces and colonial estates Thailand, which has been ruled by a military demolished, and will be publishing a book participated in a competition for young dating from the French Indochina period, he government since a coup in 2014. Anocha soon. returned to realize his vision of an Suwichakornpong, a Thai director, said that they were announced as winners. Kuperman praised the participation of but challenging setting. Tribeca, another sign that Southeast Asian Held annually since 2010 in this picturesque for a day by the army on the anniversary of the Mekong town, the festival shows productions Besides the lack of a cinema, Luang Prabang killings. "They never explained why," she said. natural partnership for us, and I really love from across Southeast Asia, even though also struggles with electricity and how they have tapped into what we are doing," Luang Prabang lacks a cinema. Movies are telecommunications. The festival must also he said. He also lauded the increasing level of deal with the reservations of a reticent category in the Oscars, awarded by the U.S. regional co-productions, which was a hot topic Prabang hotel, and in the open air in the main government that remains among the most Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. at the festival. square. In a town of 50,000 people, the conservative of the communist regimes in Southeast Asia. Induangchanty plans to direct "Raising a crowds. "Burma Storybook," which uses poetry to Beast" when funding is secured, but has also Yet the festival continues to shine, expanding depict Myanmar's emergence from isolation brought on board Abigail Lazaro from the every year, as Kuperman unveils new programs after decades of military rule, and Philippines, as producer. The pair met at Ledesma's prize was in some ways even more targeted at issues important to Asian "Motherland," a whirlwind tour of the planet's another workshop earlier in Phnom Penh, top features and documentaries from around substantial -- a $10,000 award from Aurora busiest maternity hospital, in the Philippines. Cambodia. Lazaro's co-producer is Southeast Asia, to network, attend panels Media Holdings, a Singapore media given to Laos. Among the programs of short There were commercial features such as Lao-American Steve Arounsack, making this featuring regional and international cinema investment company. Her planned feature, experts and nurture hopes for the big screen. "Cat Island," is set in Japan. She is free to use love story "Saving Sally," from the Philippines. production. the funds as she chooses, but could work with Thailand was featured in the festival's annual such as Induangchanty, who is from Laos, the Aurora to raise additional capital toward her "country spotlight" segment, with forceful Cambodian psycho-thriller "Mind "You can see how fast things are growing in this budget of about $500,000. In any case, the Cage." "Fanatic," a slick comedy about the dreams. prize focuses vital attention on her proposed discussing challenges. Led by Kong Rithdee, Page 2 of 2 HOME > FILM > ASIA DECEMBER 21, 2017 12:01 AM PT
By Patrick Frater
Malaysian film, “Redha” was named as the winner of the audience prize at the Luang Prabang Film Festival, in Laos. The 8th edition of the festival, concluded last week.
The film, directed by Tunku Mona Riza, is the story of a couple who struggle to come to terms with the disabilities presented by their autistic son.
The festival, which focuses on Southeast Asian cinema, played 32 feature films and four programs of short films.
Variety contributor, Kong Rithdee curated the spotlight on Thailand section comprising a full day of screenings and discussion of the issues facing Thai filmmakers today. Filmmakers in attendance included Anocha Suwichakornpong (“By the Time it Gets Dark”), Sompot Chidgasornpongse (“Railway Sleepers”), Boonsong Nakphoo (“Wandering”), Laddawan Rattanadilokchai (“The Couple”), Sakchai Deenan (the upcoming “Memories of New Years”), and Sanchai Chotirosseranee (Thai Film Archive, representing “Santi-Vina”). Other discussions included one on Muslim voices in cinema, and another on documentary film making.
In co-operation with the Tribeca Film Institute, the festival put on a second edition of the LPFF Talent Lab, its ASEAN-focused film project market. Lao-Filipino drama, “Raising A Beast” was selected by a jury as the winner and will next travel to the 2018 edition of the Tribeca festival. The project is written and to be directed by Xaisongkham Induangchanty (Laos), and produced by Abigail Lazaro of The Philippines.
Another project, “Cat Island,” pitched by writer-director Siege Ledesma and producer Ang Alemberg, received $10,000 as an award from the Aurora Media film fund. Credit: Courtesy of Luang Prabang Film Festival Reviews Box Office Heat Vision Roundtables
11:04 PM PST 12/19/2017 by Patrick Brzeski
Media Holdings, among others.
The jury selected Lao-Filipino project Raising a Beast to attend the TFI Network market during the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival in New York, where TFI will introduce the filmmakers to editors, distributors and financiers, mentoring the Southeast Asian team through the completion of the film. Written and directed by Xaisongkham Induangchanty (Laos) and produced by Abigail Lazaro (Philippines), Raising a Beast tells the story of two Hmong siblings, Ying and Neng, who are blessed with beautiful voices and dream of moving to the city to become singers one day. When their father refuses to sell the family's prized bull to help pay for Neng’s education in the city, Ying becomes a bull trainer to cover her brother’s expenses.
The Talent Lab's other winner was Filipino project Cat Island, pitched by Siege Ledesma (director, The growing Southeast Asian event featured an of families and villagers from the surrounding writer) and Ang Alemberg (producer). The project expanded program this year, spanning 32 community. Luang Prabang has no working received the Aurora Producing Award of $10,000 screenings, panel discussions, live music, cinemas, so it's not uncommon for some to go toward production expenses. The film exhibitions and an educational endeavor hosted attendees to see their first movie on the big follows a young Filipino woman who makes a by the Tribeca Film Institute — all of it taking screen at the festival. Accompanying the headline personal pilgrimage to Japan's real-life, Cat place in the shadow of historic Buddhist screenings were concerts from popular Lao Island, an eccentric isle mysteriously overrun with temples. singers Touly and Ola Black Eyes — "a platform for felines. these performers to showcase their talents to an The Luang Prabang Film Festival, a boutique event international audience," the LPFF's organizers Another new addition to the festival’s program in showcasing emerging cinematic voices from said. 2017 was a documentary production workshop Southeast Asia, wrapped up its eighth annual organized by the U.S. Mission to ASEAN and the edition this week, honoring Malaysian film Redha LPFF's 2017 country in focus, or "Spotlight," was American Film Showcase. Filipino-American with the audience choice award. Thailand, with a full day of programming devoted filmmaker Ramona Diaz (Imelda) and Patrick Shen to screenings and industry discussions of the (Flight from Death: The Quest for Immortality) led Held annually amid the historic Buddhist temples issues faced by Thai filmmakers today. LPFF’s rich a five-day workshop with 14 participants from the of Luang Prabang, Laos, a UNESCO World program of shorts — a particularly valuable set of Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative, who Heritage town, this year's LPFF featured an platforms given the nascent state of the region's collectively produced four short documentaries expanded lineup of 32 feature films, four film communities — included: a selection from the during the week. programs of shorts, exhibitions and performances, 2017 Vientianale Short Film Competition that and a talent lab hosted by the Tribeca Film showcased budding talent in Laos; Thai shorts to Bringing a dose of grass-roots cinematic activism Institute. complement the festival's Thailand Spotlight; the to the proceedings was an exhibition of top films from a Youth and Agroecology Short Film photographs by American photographer and The event's big winner, Redha, follows the story of Competition held by LPFF and the Agroecology documentarian Philip Jablon. A tireless Alina and Razlan, who discover that their only son Learning alliance in Southeast Asia; and recent campaigner for the preservation of Southeast is autistic and must confront the harsh realities of award winners on Viddsee, an online video Asia's heritage movie theater architecture, Jablon raising a child disabled by a condition they know platform featuring short films from across Asia. spent February and March of 2016 researching little about. The film was directed by Tunku Mona and photographing the movie theaters of Riza, who attended the festival for the screening The LPFF Talent Lab, now in its second year, Myanmar, a nation experiencing an overall rebirth and participated in a Q&A with the audience, as included 10 film projects from six ASEAN nations. of cinema-going. A selection of the photos were well as a public panel discussion on Muslim voices The lab, which was extended to two days this year, presented in Luang Prabang as the latest chapter in Southeast Asia. This year's audience choice included a pitching workshop led by Bryce Norbitz in Jablon's long-running Southeast Asia Movie award was decided by a five-star online rating and Molly O’Keefe from the Tribeca Film Institute. Theater Project. system that allowed viewers to submit their votes by smart phone after screenings. A live pitching forum followed the training session, with feedback provided by a jury comprised of All of LPFF's screenings and events are free and filmmaking professionals from around the world, open to the public. At night, some of the showings such as Oscar-winning American producer take place in the open air in the heart of Luang Kenneth Lipper and Jeremy Sim of Prabang's public market, drawing large numbers Singapore-based media investment firm Aurora Thailand Portal Contact Advertise ThaiVisa The Wall Street Journal Search in HOME TOP NEWS EXPERIENCE THAILAND BUSINESS TRAVEL KINGDOM GRIEVES
Following the afternoon pitch forum, the jury and Talent Lab fellows from the 10 participating projects boarded a boat manned by Mekong Kingdoms, a stylish new boat company that opened operations earlier this year. Fellows took in Luang Prabang’s magical mountain views and attempted to relax while the jury deliberated in a private room in the stern.
The jury was comprised of filmmaking professionals from around the world, including Sim; Kenneth Lipper, the Oscar-winning American producer; Victor William of Rokki, AirAsia’s in-flight entertainment provider; and Ho Hock Doong and Siti Helaliana Chumiran, both from the Malaysian distribution company, Astro.
The 10 projects that LPFF selected to participate, which are in various stages of production, come from six countries from the ASEAN region: Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Thailand. The pool was equal parts documentary and narrative features, with five projects of both genres participating. Films from Laos and the Philippines Attendees taking part in the Talent Lab included directors, writers, and producers behind the receive support from Tribeca films.The participating projects were: December 13, 2017 11:10 “Autobiography” (Indonesia), represented by By The Nation Makbul Mubarak (director) and Yulia Evina Bharas Xaisongkham Induangchanty’s “Raising a sell the family's prized bull to help pay for Neng’s (producer) Beast” and Siege Ledesma’s “Cat Island” took education in the city, Ying becomes a bull trainer home the top awards last night at the 2017 to cover her brother’s expenses. “Bai Bibyaon, Lady Warrior of the Lumad” Luang Prabang Film Fesitval Talent Lab, led by (Philippines), represented by Cenon Obispo Tribeca Film Institute (TFI). The Lab, which Singapore-based media investment firm Aurora Palomares (director, writer) focused on grant writing and project pitching, Media Holdings, represented on the jury by was held on the opening weekend of the eighth Jeremy Sim, selected Ledesma’s “Cat Island” as “Cat Island” (Philippines), represented by Siege annual Luang Prabang Film Festival, which the recipient of their Aurora Producing Award. Ledesma (director, writer) and Ang Alemberg kicked off on December 8 and ends today. Ledesma, who attended the Talent Lab with her (producer) producer Alemberg Ang, will receive US$10,000 Building on the first iteration of the Talent Lab in (Bt327,000) to help produce her film. “Doi Boy” (Thailand), represented by Nontawat 2016, this year’s Lab was expanded to two days, Numbenchapol (director, writer) and included a pitching workshop and pitch forum “Cat Island” follows Catherine, who after with feedback from a panel of film professionals. dedicating almost two decades of her life to the “Going Straight” (Philippines), represented by The jury selected Xaisongkham’s “Raising a care of her asthmatic, albeit feisty and cat-loving Kristoffer Brugada (director) Beast”, to attend the TFI Network market at the mother, finds herself alone and purposeless when 2018 Tribeca Film Festival (April 18-29, 2018). her mother dies. On the eve of her 40th birthday, “It Wasn’t an Accident” (Myanmar), represented Xaisongkham attended the Talent Lab with his the ghost of Catherine’s mother returns to ask for by Soe Moe Aung (director) Filipino producer, Abigail Lazaro. Catherine’s help in completing her “unfinished business”: have her remains cremated and “Luzviminda” (Philippines), represented by Hosted annually by TFI, the industry market gives scattered over Cat Island, Japan. With a renewed Inshallah Montero (director) filmmakers the opportunity to build connections sense of purpose, Catherine travels to Japan to with a wide range of industry insiders who can complete her mission on the rural island. “Raising a Beast” (Laos), represented by potentially help them advance their projects. TFI Xaisongkham Induangchanthy (director, writer) will mentor Xaisongkham through the completion Founded by Justin Deimen, Terence Kong, and and Abigail Lazaro (producer) of the project. All participants in this year’s Talent Sim, Aurora Media is one of Southeast Asia’s Lab will also receive preferential consideration for leading media and entertainment asset “Song of the Homeland” (Thailand), represented any of TFI’s grants. incubation, investment and management by Preecha Srisuwan (director, cinematographer) specialists. “Raising a Beast”, co-produced by American “Wilderness” (Malaysia), represented by Nadira Steve Arounsack, tells the story of two Hmong The announcement of the winning projects was Ilana (director, scriptwriter) siblings, Ying and Neng, who are blessed with made in a uniquely Luang Prabang fashion: while beautiful voices and dream of moving to the city cruising down the Mekong River at sunset. Find out more at the LPFF at www.lpfilmfest.org. to become singers. When their father refuses to Vientiane Times Tuesday December 12, 2017 15 Arts & Leisure Luang Prabang lights up for nation’s premier film festival In addition to the filmmakers representing their features, a bevvy of directors, writers, and producers from across Asean, Europe, and the United States also showed up to walk the red carpet, develop film industry contacts, and check out the rising regional talent.
Also spotted at Azerai was Jeremy Sim from the Singapore-based film fund Aurora Media Holdings, which will be awarding one of the Talent Lab projects the Aurora Producing Award of US$10,000.
A slew of stars milled about, posing for photos with fans and new friends.
Festival host and Lao pop star Audience gathered for film delights on opening night. Touly was all elegance in Times Reporters traditional dress, while The Anniversary star Vena Boupha Xaisongkham Induangchanty’s lighting up the city’s UNESCO discussions, while shared stunned in a gorgeous gown. “Raising a Beast” and Siege World Heritage Listed old town experiences and new ideas would Ledesma ’s “Cat Island” projects since Friday, with some 32 feature improve and inform each other’s The festival wraps up today after have taken home top awards at the films showcasing the best of Laos’ future efforts, he said. screenings, public discussions, 2017 LPFF Talent Lab, led by and Southeast Asian cinema’s and performances throughout the Tribeca Film Institute (TFI) held current crop. Some 22 of this edition’s 32 week. on the opening weekend of the feature films have directors, eighth incarnation of the annual Friday evening saw a lively producers, writers or actors in Two films per evening play near Luang Prabang Film Festival. opening ceremony at the festival’s attendance, all of whom the Handicraft Market from 6 pm, night venue at the Handicraft participate in Q&A sessions after with additional films screening at Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Market, overflowing with Lao the screenings of their films. The the Sofitel Luang Prabang during Myanmar, the Philippines and music and dance as well as festival’s intimate and casual daytime hours from 10am to 4pm. Thailand were represented as 10 insights aplenty in opening ambience makes it so that projects in various stages of speeches from Governor of Luang audiences can chat one-on-one Every day before films show there production received expert Prabang, Mr. Khamkhanh with their favourite filmmakers are performances of Lao music insights from TFI’s Bryce Norbitz Chanthavisouk and LPFF director between screenings. and traditional dance. and Molly O’Keefe in a pitch Gabriel Kuperman. workshop to see filmmaker’s The first night following the In keeping with LPFF’s visions come to fruition. The opening ceremony was also ceremony saw screening of the new commitment to accessibility, all attended by Deputy Minister of Lao film, “The Anniversary.” events are free and open to the Participating projects included Information, Culture and Tourism, public. Autobiography (Indonesia), Lady Mr Boua Ngeun Xaphouvong Directed by Chilasack “Jojo” Warrior of the Lumad and Director General of the Saysanith, the film had a (Philippines), Cat Island Department of Cinema, Mr successful commercial run in (Philippines), Doi Boy (Thailand), Vithoune Soundara. cinemas across the country upon Going Straight (Philippines), It its release in March of this year. Wasn’t an Accident (Myanmar), This year was exceptional and Luzviminda (Philippines), Raising many visitors were interested in After the film, an international a Beast (Laos), Song of the joining because there are so many film crowd joined a who’s who of Homeland (Thailand) and inspiring films and related national and regional filmmakers Wilderness (Malaysia). activities, Mr Vithoune told to head across the street and party Vientiane Times at the ceremony. on the grounds of the new Azerai The 2017 LPFF Talent Lab is part Hotel, the first location in a of the eighth Luang Prabang Film Filmmakers from different venture from Adrian Zecha of Festival (LPFF) that has been countries were absorbed in public Aman Resorts fame.
life 10-12 culture&living | Thursday, December 14, 2017 LUANG PRABANG FILM FEST Annual event eyes larger role in fostering cinema throughout the region MOVES FORWARD STORY: KONG RITHDEE here was the crowd, the spontaneous chaos, and the outdoor screening that has become a hallmark of the Luang Prabang Film Festival. Its eighth edition ending last night, the film festival in a town without cinemas has grown into an annual highlight every December, with its eyes firmly fixed on Southeast Asian titles and an attempt to expand its role and relevance to regional audience and filmmakers.
At the opening night last Friday, the outdoor screen at Luang Prabang’s Handicraft Market, the central square where locals, vendors, backpackers and tourists converge in a carnivalesque hubbub, beamed the opening film, a Lao romantic comedy called The Anniversary, and the 1,500 plastic chairs put out for spectators were all taken. It’s not a perfect condition for projecting a movie — at the back, noise from children, hawkers and beer-swilling PHOTO: NONTAWAT NUMBENCHAPOL diners sometimes competed with the sound on screen, the subtitles could feel too small, and many others, and the audience was almost lights from nearby shops and stalls vied with the exclusively Western expats, festival guests and beamed-up image. But perhaps it’s the raw tourists. The atmosphere, naturally, was more energy of the setting that counted, and the formal, and one wonders if a Lao local would feel viewers laughed and reacted to every joke on the somewhat intimidated to venture into the screen. It was also possible that since Luang luxurious property to watch a movie. Prabang has no cinemas (though Laos has setting that didn’t impress many visiting multiplexes in Vientiane and Pakse), the outdoor filmmakers. In the past few years however, the day The LPFF has committed to the development of screening offered a chance for viewers to venue has been moved to the Hotel Sofitel, and Lao filmmakers from the start. Once nearly experience cinema as a collective activity — and the films are now shown inside a handsome non-existent, Lao filmmakers have become more perhaps introduce the notion of “a movie screen” timber pavilion set next to an attractive lawn. The active in the past decade, and LPFF has emerged to children who only know television. 75-seat room is dark and comfortable but not as a platform for local talents (four Lao feature soundproof, so sometimes noise from outside (or films were screened this year, and a number of Besides a selection of titles from Myanmar, when a plane flies overhead) interfered with the short films from the Vientianale Short Film Cambodia, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, the screening. Again, it’s not ideal, something veteran Competition). This year the festival also expanded Philippines, Vietnam and Laos, this year the film festival travellers might frown upon. But it is its regional role further by hosting a Talent Lab, festival highlighted films from its closest an improvement. Like most festivals in the world, where filmmakers from Southeast Asia were neighbour in the “Spotlight On Thai Cinema” LPFF is, hopefully, in the perpetual stage of picked to pitch their film projects and compete programme. Twelve Thai films were screened, growing and fine-tuning. for a US$10,000 (325,888) investment. A project from the popular Chalat Games Geong (Bad called Cat Island from Filipino filmmaker Siege Genius) to the restored classic Santi Vina and a These two venues — the outdoor screen at night Ledesma won top prize, while a Lao script called semi-experimental documentary Mon Rot Fai and the day venue at a 5-star hotel — attracted Raising A Beast by Xaisongkham Induangchanty (Railway Sleepers). On opening night, Thai film two totally different crowds and represented two was selected as a promising project to join Hak Man (In My Hometown), which uses the Isan personalities of the event. The night-time Tribeca Film Institute’s pitching and mentoring dialect and is set entirely in the Northeast, was showings were mainly attended by locals, and the session in New York next year. shown after the opening Lao film. Another hit at selection of films geared more towards the the outdoor screen was the period action film popular (except the showing of Railway Sleepers, In all, from its origin eight years ago the LPFF has Thongdee Fankhao (Legend Of The Broken a near-abstract, non-narrative film that observes now grown into a bigger, more confident film Sword), which stars boxer Buakhao Banchamek train passengers in Thailand). event, a cultural attraction in a World Heritage as a ruthless warrior of ancient times. town on the bend of the Mekong. With local The daytime screenings, on the contrary, showed businesses giving support, the festival is likely to When the LPFF started in 2010, there was only the more challenging films — such as Dao Khanong grow even further, and hopefully the fine-tuning outdoor screen. Two years later, the festival added (By The Time It Gets Dark) and Rak Ti Khon Kaen of its role and relevance will continue. screenings at its day venue — basically by showing (Cemetery Of Splendour) from Thailand, as well films on television in a hotel’s conference room, a as a documentary In Exile from Myanmar and FESTIVALS: REDHA WINS AUDIENCE AWARD IN LUANG PRABANG
| December 18, 2017 | Liz Shackleton |
Malaysian drama Redha, directed by Tunku Mona Riza, Lao-Filipino collaboration Raising A Beast, written and was presented with the audience award at this year’s directed by Lao filmmaker Xaisongkham Induangchanty Luang Prabang Film Festival. and produced by the Philippines’ Abigail Lazaro, was selected to attend the TFI Network market during the The film, which was Malaysia’s best foreign-language Tribeca Film Festival in New York in 2018. The project Oscar submission in 2016, revolves around a couple follows two Hmong siblings who dream of moving to the dealing with the discovery that their only son is autistic. city to become singers. Tunku Mona Riza, who made her feature debut with the film, attended the festival and took part in a panel Filipino project Cat Island, pitched by director Siege discussion about Muslim voices in Southeast Asian Ledesma and producer Ang Alemberg, received the cinema. Aurora Producing Award of $10,000. Also scripted by Ledesma, the projects tells the story of a woman who Now in its eighth edition, the Luang Prabang Film travels to Japan to complete a mission for her cat-loving Festival (December 8-13) focuses on Southeast Asian mother. cinema and this year screened 32 features and four programmes of short films. This year’s LPFF also introduced a documentary production workshop organised by the US Mission to Short film programmes included a selection from the ASEAN and the American Film Showcase. Vientianale Short Film Competition showcasing new Filipino-American filmmaker Ramona Diaz and Patrick talent in Laos; Thai shorts to complement this year’s Shen led a five-day workshop with 14 participants, Spotlight country; the top films from a Youth and resulting in the production of four short docs, which Agro-ecology Short Film Competition held by LPFF; and were screened along with Diaz’s most recent film, recent award winners from online video platform Motherland. Viddsee.
The festival also hosted the second edition of the LPFF Talent Lab for Southeast Asian filmmakers, led by the Tribeca Film Institute (TFI), which selected ten projects from six ASEAN nations. THE INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER IN BRUNEI DARUSSALAM, SABAH AND SARAWAK
Home National SE Asia World Bussiness Technology Lifestyle Enterainment Sports Features Local filmmaker attends workshop in Laos
December 16, 2017
| James Kon |
ASPIRING local filmmaker Abdul Zainidi, the The young talented filmmaker said, “It was man behind the successful local short film of really a challenge to work in a limited time. At ‘Vanishing Children’, returned home yesterday the end of the workshop, we screened our film with enhanced knowledge in filmmaking after in the Luang Prabang Film Festival. Overall, we successfully completing a documentary did very well in the workshop.” He pointed out film-making workshop under The American that close friendship was foraged in the Film Showcase in the Luang Prabang of Laos. workshop which will provide an opportunity for collaboration in film-making am-ong The workshop was organised by The American filmmakers in Asean member countries. Film Showcase together with US Mission to Asean in collaboration with the Luang Prabang He added, “I also learned that I could work Film Festival, where 14 emerging documentary under pressure and I also get to see inside the filmmakers from the Young Southeast Asian Wat Wai temple as well as speak with the head Leaders Initiatives (YSEALI) network monks.” Venturing into filmmaking for only five participated. years, Abdul Zainidi is the first Bruneian to be selected in the Asian film academy last year Abdul Zainidi is the first Bruneian to be under Busan international film festival. selected to attend the workshop. Based in Tutong, the young filmmaker shot to In an interview, Abdul Zainidi said, “This is the fame with his first short film on horror Abdul Zainidi. – JAMES KON first time that we are invited under YSEASLI documentary named ‘Vanishing Children’. This network. American Film Experts Ramona Diaz was followed by another two films namely and Patrick Shen were on hand to help enhance ‘More Vanishing Children’ and ‘Still Vanishing our documentary film-making skills.” children’.
He continued, “We were split into a group of four to make a three-minute short film within two days. The movie that we did is in Luang Prabang. We didn’t know much about the Luang Prabang but we managed to find a Buddhist temple named Wat Mai.” Asian Film Commissions Natwork Vol.74 Your Passort to Asia AFCNet Newsletter. Dec 2017
Luang Prabang Film Festival 2017 (Dec 8~13) in Southeast Asia; and recent award winners on Viddsee, an online video platform featuring short films from across Asia.
Also, Xaisongkham Induangchanty’s Raising a Beast and Siege Ledesma’s Cat Island took home top awards at the 2017 Luang Prabang Film Festival Talent Lab, sponsored by The Tribeca Film Institute(TFI). The jury selected Induangchanty’s project Raising a Beast, to attend the TFI Network market at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival(April 18-29th, 2018). Induangchanty attended the Talent Lab with his producer, Abigail Lazaro. Singapore-based media investment firm Aurora Media Holdings, represented on the jury by Jeremy Sim, selected Ledesma’s Cat Island as the recipient of their Aurora Producing Award. Founded by Justin Deimen, Terence Kong, and Sim, Aurora The Luang Prabang Film Festival (LPFF) celebrating Southeast Asian cinema, ran from Media is one of Southeast Asia’s leading media concluded its eighth annual event this week in Friday, 8 December to Wednesday, 13 and entertainment asset incubation, the UNESCO World Heritage town of Luang December. Indochina Production, AFCNet investment and management specials. Prabang, Laos, with the Audience Choice associate member was one of the sponsors for Ledesma, who attended the Talent Lab with her Award going to the Malaysian film, Redha. this year’s festival. In addition to screening 32 producer Alemberg Ang, will receive $10,000 feature films and four programs of short films, USD to help produce her film. The Audience Choice Award was decided by a LPFF put on four public discussions and several 5-star online rating system, for which viewers performances. could submit their rating of a film after its screening. This year’s winner, Redha, follows the story of Alina and Razlan, who discover that their only son is autistic and must confront the harsh realities of raising a child disabled by a condition they hardly know about. The film was directed by Tunku Mona Riza, who attended the festival for her screening and participated in a Q&A with the audience as well as a public discussion on Muslim Voices in Southeast Asia.
Not only is LPFF a celebration of the finest Southeast Asian cinema, it has become well known as a unique forum for regional film professionals to network internationally and to exchange diverse ideas and experiences. In LPFF’s commitment to accessibility, all screenings and activities of the festival were free and open to the public. LPFF’s four programs of short films included: a selection The festival, which has the mission of from the 2017 Vientianale Short Film Competition that showcased budding talent in Laos; Thai shorts to complement the festival’s SPOTLIGHT country; the top films from a Youth and Agroecology Short Film Competition held by LPFF and the Agroecology Learning alliance with Laos. At last year’s festival Cambodia made a strong impression—the absolutely riveting documentary Cambodian Son won the ‘Audience Choice Award’—and this year there are three films to look forward to from that nation’s burgeoning film industry. Another growing film industry can be found in The Philippines, which has six titles in competition (the most films in the 2017 line-up, after Thailand).
In addition to the feature film screenings, LPFF will also have four programmes of short films, four public discussion forums, a Talent Lab for Southeast Asian filmmakers led by the Tribeca Film Institute (TFI), and a documentary production workshop.
If you’ve never attended the LPFF it is a truly one-of-a-kind event. The fact that all screenings and related activities are free and open to the From its humble beginnings as a celebration of As it has the most active film industry of all the public makes it a very unique and wonderfully Southeast Asian cinema, the Luang Prabang Film Southeast Asian nations, it’s not surprising that inclusive event. In addition, the presence of the Festival (LPFF) has grown into a well-known and Thailand has the most films in this year’s line-up. directors, producers, and/or actors at almost every important forum for regional film professionals to Among the one dozen films from these shores are post-film Q&A at the official LPFF day screening network internationally and get their films seen by such titles as: Bad Genius; By the Time it Gets venue—located in a traditional raised wooden a larger audience. This year marks the 8th edition Dark; Cemetery of Splendour; The Couple; Heart house on the grounds of the Sofitel Luang of this annual event, which runs from December Attack; In My Hometown; The Island Funeral; Prabang hotel—means you really get to know the 8th to the 13th. Legend of the Broken Sword; Railway Sleepers; back story of each film. Finally, add the that the Snap; and Wandering. beauty and laid back ambience of Luang Prabang Founded in 2009 by American-born Gabriel itself (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), and you’ve Kuperman, the LPFF is a not-for-profit project that Thailand is also the focus of this year’s ‘Spotlight’ got the best holiday destination a cinephile could fosters cross-cultural dialogue within the region programme, with a full day of programming ask for. and supports the burgeoning film industry in both devoted to screenings and discussion of Thai Laos and the greater ASEAN region. By identifying feature films. Kong Rithdee—LPFF’s Motion For more details on specific screenings, as well as great curators, with inside understanding of their Picture Ambassador for Thailand, and a film critic information on how to plan your trip, visit the community’s film scene, LPFF is able to produce a for the Bangkok Post—will act as the programme’s official website at: www.lpfilmfest.org. unique programme that ensures the inclusion of host, leading post-screening Q&As and a public the strongest voices from across Southeast Asia. discussion. Among the movies screening in this Official selections are made by experts and critics special programme is the 1954 film Santi-Vina, from across Southeast Asia—referred to as which was recently restored for a screening at ‘Motion Picture Ambassadors’—and the final ‘Cannes Classics’ in 2016. roster of movies to be screened represents a carefully chosen collection of what they believe to Meanwhile, the other nine ASEAN nations are all be the finest contemporary films from their present in this year’s festival, even Brunei which is respective countries. represented by the film Rina 2, a co-production “[The expert] is either a producer, a critic, a journalist or an academic, someone who knows the history of Made For the film in that country, the present atmosphere, and the potential for film in that country, he says.
The Movies The festival has helped put Luang rabang on the “The Luang Prabang Film Festival map for more than just its physical charms, although is now part of a world-wide cultural these are integral to the event’s success. circuit” by Sally Pryor “Each year, as the festival has grown, with more regional filmmakers attending, participating, and or a tiny town famous the world over for being contributing, it has made a bigger impact on the sleepy and laid-back, Luang Prabang sure F more cohesive Southeast Asian film community. It has does know how to host a festival. filled a creative – almost spiritual – need for the region s filmmakers to connect and dialogue in a If you’ve ever found yourself there in the midst of non-competitive, nurturing space.” Lao New Year, or the end of Buddhist Lent, you’ll know the place can turn it up like no other – being just small enough for a decent crowd to flood the Five Films Not to Miss at streets with energy and goodwill, transforming the the 2017 Luang Prabang Film Festival sleepy streets and winding lanes into conduits to the good life. Saving Sally (Philippines) But, after three days in Vientiane, he never made it “We want Lao people to be able to participate in Director: Avid Liongoren further than Luang Prabang. anything that they want to participate in,” he says. It’s the perfect place, then, for a film festival. And Marty is an aspiring comic-book artist who is “We’re doing this in Laos where many people not just any film festival, but a fast-growing secretly in love with his best friend, Sally, the “I thought I’d be here for another three days as don’t have a lot of disposable income, and I want cultural event that has become a touchstone for gadget inventor. Like every love story, there are well, and those three days turned into three it to be as open as possible for them.” outheast Asian filmmakers, and a crucial calendar complications: Sally has monsters for parents and weeks, and then three months,” he says. event for lovers of film throughout the region. an incredibly obnoxious boyfriend, while Marty Kuperman and his team run the festival as a not for has vivid fantasies of defending the love of his life “I never thought I would leave New York. I wasn’t profit event that runs entirely on sponsorships and The Luang Prabang Film Festival is now in its from the big bad world. looking for a place to move to, it wasn’t even on donations, and while some of the sponsorships are eighth year, a highly anticipated regional event my radar.” significant Beerlao, Pepsi – the event has no that brings locals and tourists to the old Royal endowment or enduring source of income. Capital in their thousands, lured by the concept of That’s what they all say. It’s almost impossible to Father and Son (Vietnam) a town already saturated in culture playing host to Santi-Vina (Thailand) describe the unique allure of Luang Prabang, in a Getting it off the ground each year means starting Director: Luong Dinh Dung the fascinating creative universe that cinema Director: Thavi Na Bangchang Produced in 1954, world filled with quaint historic towns. But at some from scratch, although it helps that Kuperman Ca is a young boy who lives with his father in a reveals. then considered lost for over sixty years, point, Kuperman decided to make a permanent himself has become something of a local celebrity mountainous area. Ca dreams of reaching the nest Santi-Vina was discovered and restored by the move. – known to many on Facebook as Falang Seu of what he thought is a huge bird in the sky (which “It was clear from the beginning that Luang Thai film Archive in 2016. In the film, Santi, a Somchan. is actually an airplane) and climbing to the top of Prabang would be a perfect place for a festival like 10-year-old blind boy, lives with his poor father. He He found a job at a tourism company, entrenched the tallest building in an unknown city. Suddenly, this,” says Gabriel Kuperman, the festival’s has his best friend, Vina, who protects him from himself into the local life, and almost instantly The persona was born, he says, as a way of Ca contracts a disease that seems to threaten his founder and director. bullying by a naughty Krai. The story follows the started planning to set up a film festival. connecting more Lao people to the festival, and life. Hence, the father and son start their journey friends into adulthood, when a love triangle turning it into a local event rather than an to the city. “The town is teeming with culture, interesting Burma Storybook (Myanmar) develop He approached the Lao Department of Cinema, experience only foreigners would appreciate. And architecture, and natural beauty. It’s small and Directors: Petr Lom & Corinne van Egeraat which operates under the Ministry of Information, if there’s one thing most Lao people appreciate, intimate, allowing for visitors to get between Burma Storybook is a creative documentary about Culture and Tourism, with the proposal of a it’s a foreigner who speaks their language. venues with ease, and to feel the energy of the a country emerging from years of dictatorship, two-pronged mission. festival wherever they are. told through Burmese poetry. The film circles And not only speaks, but posts videos about his around the story of the country’s most famous “One was to help develop the local Lao film life and travels, often linking back to the festival. In a bigger city, a festival can just get lost among living dissident poet alive, as he waits for his industry, and the second to create a space for the mayhem. In a place like Luang Prabang, the long-lost son to return home. outheast Asian filmmakers to meet, connect, “I felt like I wanted a better way to connect Lao whole town becomes part of the event.” discuss the individual film industries in the region people to the film festival and the work that we do and then a more cohesive Southeast Asian film in terms of our educational activities and When he refers to “the beginning”, Kuperman is industry, he says. workshops and those kinds of things,” he says. really alluding to the time when he, like many an expat before him, made the transition from tourist Nine years down the track, and the festival, run as With around 225,000 followers, it’s undeniable Jailbreak (Cambodia) to resident. Born in Washington DC and formerly a The 2017 Luang Prabang Film Festival is on an official Lao government project, has retained that this page has helped attract both sponsors Director: Jimmy Henderson resident of New York City, he finished his masters December 8–13. the exact same concept as when it started, and visitors to the festival. A group of pecial Task Force Officers are sent to studies in 2008 and headed off on the obligatory showing films from all of the 10 ASEAN countries, Prei Klaa prison where the country’s top criminals Southeast Asian jaunt with a friend. After a long lpfilmfest.org @lpfilmfest with a bursting program of screenings, lectures, This year’s event promises to be bigger than ever, are detained. What starts as a simple escort sojourn in Thailand, he planned to take in Laos, workshops and concerts over six days. with more than films in the program carefully curated mission will soon turn into chaos as the prisoners Vietnam and Cambodia alone before returning to by a team of cinema experts from each country take over the prison grounds. Trapped in the the US to get on with whatever life as a Media And, most importantly, and unusually, for a film represented, as well as a local selection committee. building, our four heroes will have to fight their Studies graduate had in store for him. festival, the entire event is free and open to all. way out for survival, or die trying. Page 1 of 2 “[The expert] is either a producer, a critic, a journalist or an academic, someone who knows the history of the film in that country, the present atmosphere, and the potential for film in that country, he says.
The festival has helped put Luang rabang on the map for more than just its physical charms, although these are integral to the event’s success.
“Each year, as the festival has grown, with more regional filmmakers attending, participating, and or a tiny town famous the world over for being contributing, it has made a bigger impact on the sleepy and laid-back, Luang Prabang sure more cohesive Southeast Asian film community. It has does know how to host a festival. filled a creative – almost spiritual – need for the region s filmmakers to connect and dialogue in a If you’ve ever found yourself there in the midst of non-competitive, nurturing space.” Lao New Year, or the end of Buddhist Lent, you’ll know the place can turn it up like no other – being just small enough for a decent crowd to flood the Five Films Not to Miss at streets with energy and goodwill, transforming the the 2017 Luang Prabang Film Festival sleepy streets and winding lanes into conduits to the good life. Saving Sally (Philippines) But, after three days in Vientiane, he never made it “We want Lao people to be able to participate in Director: Avid Liongoren further than Luang Prabang. anything that they want to participate in,” he says. It’s the perfect place, then, for a film festival. And Marty is an aspiring comic-book artist who is “We’re doing this in Laos where many people not just any film festival, but a fast-growing secretly in love with his best friend, Sally, the “I thought I’d be here for another three days as don’t have a lot of disposable income, and I want cultural event that has become a touchstone for gadget inventor. Like every love story, there are well, and those three days turned into three it to be as open as possible for them.” outheast Asian filmmakers, and a crucial calendar complications: Sally has monsters for parents and weeks, and then three months,” he says. event for lovers of film throughout the region. an incredibly obnoxious boyfriend, while Marty Kuperman and his team run the festival as a not for has vivid fantasies of defending the love of his life “I never thought I would leave New York. I wasn’t profit event that runs entirely on sponsorships and The Luang Prabang Film Festival is now in its from the big bad world. looking for a place to move to, it wasn’t even on donations, and while some of the sponsorships are eighth year, a highly anticipated regional event my radar.” significant Beerlao, Pepsi – the event has no that brings locals and tourists to the old Royal endowment or enduring source of income. Capital in their thousands, lured by the concept of That’s what they all say. It’s almost impossible to Father and Son (Vietnam) a town already saturated in culture playing host to Santi-Vina (Thailand) describe the unique allure of Luang Prabang, in a Getting it off the ground each year means starting Director: Luong Dinh Dung the fascinating creative universe that cinema Director: Thavi Na Bangchang Produced in 1954, world filled with quaint historic towns. But at some from scratch, although it helps that Kuperman Ca is a young boy who lives with his father in a reveals. then considered lost for over sixty years, point, Kuperman decided to make a permanent himself has become something of a local celebrity mountainous area. Ca dreams of reaching the nest Santi-Vina was discovered and restored by the move. – known to many on Facebook as Falang Seu of what he thought is a huge bird in the sky (which “It was clear from the beginning that Luang Thai film Archive in 2016. In the film, Santi, a Somchan. is actually an airplane) and climbing to the top of Prabang would be a perfect place for a festival like 10-year-old blind boy, lives with his poor father. He He found a job at a tourism company, entrenched the tallest building in an unknown city. Suddenly, this,” says Gabriel Kuperman, the festival’s has his best friend, Vina, who protects him from himself into the local life, and almost instantly The persona was born, he says, as a way of Ca contracts a disease that seems to threaten his founder and director. bullying by a naughty Krai. The story follows the started planning to set up a film festival. connecting more Lao people to the festival, and life. Hence, the father and son start their journey friends into adulthood, when a love triangle turning it into a local event rather than an to the city. “The town is teeming with culture, interesting Burma Storybook (Myanmar) develop He approached the Lao Department of Cinema, experience only foreigners would appreciate. And architecture, and natural beauty. It’s small and Directors: Petr Lom & Corinne van Egeraat which operates under the Ministry of Information, if there’s one thing most Lao people appreciate, intimate, allowing for visitors to get between Burma Storybook is a creative documentary about Culture and Tourism, with the proposal of a it’s a foreigner who speaks their language. venues with ease, and to feel the energy of the a country emerging from years of dictatorship, two-pronged mission. festival wherever they are. told through Burmese poetry. The film circles And not only speaks, but posts videos about his around the story of the country’s most famous “One was to help develop the local Lao film life and travels, often linking back to the festival. In a bigger city, a festival can just get lost among living dissident poet alive, as he waits for his industry, and the second to create a space for the mayhem. In a place like Luang Prabang, the long-lost son to return home. outheast Asian filmmakers to meet, connect, “I felt like I wanted a better way to connect Lao whole town becomes part of the event.” discuss the individual film industries in the region people to the film festival and the work that we do and then a more cohesive Southeast Asian film in terms of our educational activities and When he refers to “the beginning”, Kuperman is industry, he says. workshops and those kinds of things,” he says. really alluding to the time when he, like many an expat before him, made the transition from tourist Nine years down the track, and the festival, run as With around 225,000 followers, it’s undeniable Jailbreak (Cambodia) to resident. Born in Washington DC and formerly a The 2017 Luang Prabang Film Festival is on an official Lao government project, has retained that this page has helped attract both sponsors Director: Jimmy Henderson resident of New York City, he finished his masters December 8–13. the exact same concept as when it started, and visitors to the festival. A group of pecial Task Force Officers are sent to studies in 2008 and headed off on the obligatory showing films from all of the 10 ASEAN countries, Prei Klaa prison where the country’s top criminals Southeast Asian jaunt with a friend. After a long lpfilmfest.org @lpfilmfest with a bursting program of screenings, lectures, This year’s event promises to be bigger than ever, are detained. What starts as a simple escort sojourn in Thailand, he planned to take in Laos, workshops and concerts over six days. with more than films in the program carefully curated mission will soon turn into chaos as the prisoners Vietnam and Cambodia alone before returning to by a team of cinema experts from each country take over the prison grounds. Trapped in the the US to get on with whatever life as a Media And, most importantly, and unusually, for a film represented, as well as a local selection committee. building, our four heroes will have to fight their Studies graduate had in store for him. festival, the entire event is free and open to all. way out for survival, or die trying. Page 2 of 2 NEWS Luang Prabang Festival announces 2017 Talent Lab projects Date: November 29, 2017 Author: asiaincinema
Luang Prabang Film Festival 2017 Talent Lab projects
Autobiography (Indonesia) Makbul Mubarak (director) and Yulia Evina Bharas (producer)
Bai Bibyaon, Lady Warrior of the Lumad (Philippines) Cenón Obispo Palomares (director, writer)
Cat Island (Philippines) Siege Ledesma (director, writer) and Ang Alemberg (producer)
Doi Boy (Thailand) Nontawat Numbenchapol (director, writer) Laos’ Luang Prabang Film Festival has One project will also win the Aurora announced the ten projects for its second Producing Award, backed by Singapore’s Going Straight (Philippines) annual Talent Lab. Led by the Tribeca Film Aurora Media Holdings. The winning Kristoffer Brugada (director) Institute, the project pitching and grant filmmaker will receive a US$10,000 towards writing program will be held during the the project. It Wasn’t an Accident (Myanmar) Luang Prabang festival’s eighth edition Soe Moe Aung (director) (December 8th-13th). “We’re looking at the Talent Lab to bring new voices and vision to the filmmaking Luzviminda (Philippines) The ten projects come from six countries in landscape in the region,” says Justin Inshallah Montero (director) the region: Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Deimen, Group Managing Partner at Aurora Myanmar, the Philippines, and Thailand. Media Holdings. “Stories that challenge Raising a Beast (Laos) There are five narrative features and five perceptions, yet with strong commercial Xaisongkham Induangchanthy (director, writer) documentaries. leanings and an artistic core always interest and Abigail Lazaro (producer) us. Our hope is that we can support and The filmmakers will put their projects create frameworks that will develop and Song of the Homeland (Thailand) through a pitching workshop and pitch grow this ecosystem.” Preecha Srisuwan (director, cinematographer) forum during the two-day event. One project will be chosen to attend the Tribeca Film Wilderness (Malaysia) Institute’s network market during the Tribeca Nadira Ilana (director, scriptwriter) Film Festival in April 2018. Thailand Portal Contact Advertise ThaiVisa The Wall Street Journal Search in HOME TOP NEWS EXPERIENCE THAILAND BUSINESS TRAVEL KINGDOM GRIEVES
As happens every year, the official film selections will have directors, producers and actors in attendance who participate in numerous festival events, including post-screening Q&A sessions.
Visitors can also enjoy an exhibition of the photographs of Philip Jablon, who in 2008 began his Southeast Asia Movie Theatre Project, creating the single most comprehensive collection of the region’s cinematic theatres ever compiled.
The photos on display at this year’s festival will depict some of the theatres captured during Jablon’s tour of Mon State in Myanmar in February and March this year.
Find out more at LPFilmFest.org and keep up to date at Facebook.com/lpfilmfest.
Lao director Chilasak Saysanith's new feature, "The Anniversary" will open the Luang Prabang Film Festival. Thai films in spotlight in Luang Prabang Movie & TV November 03, 2017 01:00 By The Nation THE FULL FILM ROSTER The Lao cinema festival in December casts its Set in Vientiane, it’s about Vin, a young man whose bad -“2 Cool 2 Be 4gotten” (Philippines) gaze across Southeast Asia timing combines with unexpected events to sabotage his romantic relationships before they can get to the first - “The Anniversary” (Laos) - “Bad Genius” (Thailand) The Luang Prabang Film Festival, taking place in the anniversary. Enter Vahn, whose disdain for the higher former capital of Laos from December 8 to 13, will have a social classes force Vin to hide his wealth. - “Blood Road” (Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia) bumper crop of Thai movies, including Apichatpong - “Burma Storybook” (Myanmar) The festival will show both features and short films, Weerasethakul’s “Rak Ti Khon Kaen” (“Cemetery of - “By the Time It Gets Dark” (Thailand) Splendour”) and the international hit “Chalard Games including a selection from this year’s Vientianale, and – at - “Cemetery of Splendour” (Thailand) Gong” (“Bad Genius”). the day venue in the Sofitel Luang Prabang – will host discussions on film preservation in the digital age, - “The Couple” (Thailand)
“Dao Khanong” (“By the Time It Gets Dark”) – which won “Muslim voices” in Southeast Asia, and financing - “Die Beautiful” (Philippines) the Subhanahongsa Award for best picture and was non-fiction projects. - “Fanatic” (Vietnam) Thailand’s bid for a foreign-language Oscar – will be - “Father and Son” (Vietnam) There’ll be a Talent Lab led by the Tribeca Film Institute screened. So will Pimpaka Towira’s “Mahasamut Lae - “Heart Attack” (Thailand) Susan” (“The Island Funeral”), the independent on pitching concepts, after which one project will be - “In Exile” (Myanmar) documentary “Mon Rotfai” (“Railway Sleepers”) and the selected for marketing in New York as part of the 2018 - “In My Hometown” (Thailand) 1954 classic “SantiVina”. Tribeca Film Festival. - “The Island Funeral” (Thailand) The others are “The Couple”, “Heart Attack”, “In My All participants in the Talent Lab will get preferential - “Jailbreak” (Cambodia) consideration for TFI grants, with Aurora Media Holdings Hometown”, "Legend of the Broken Sword”, “Snap” and - “Khuannang” (Laos) “Wandering”. offering production startup funds of Bt340,000. - “Legend of the Broken Sword” (Thailand) - “Mind Cage” (Cambodia) The festival’s “Spotlight on Thailand” segment will see Bangkok Post film critic Kong Rithdee – who serves as the - “Motherland” (Philippines) festival’s “Motion Picture Ambassador for Thailand” – - “Ordinary People” (Philippines) leading the daylong programme of Thai films and a - “Railway Sleepers” (Thailand) discussion about contemporary Thai cinema. - “Redha” (Malaysia) - “Rina 2” (Brunei, Laos) - “Santi-Vina” (Thailand) - “Saving Sally” (Philippines) - “Snap” (Thailand) - “Turah” (Indonesia) A documentary-production workshop is also planned, - “Unlucky Plaza” (Singapore) sponsored by the US Mission to Southeast Asia and the - “Wandering” (Thailand) Opening the festival will be “The Anniversary”, a new Lao American Film Showcase and led by Filipino-American feature directed by Chilasak Saysanith, the trailer for director Ramona Diaz (“Imelda”, “Don’t Stop Believin’”). - “Women of the Weeping River” (Philippines) which is posted on the website – LPFilmFest.org. - “You Mean the World to Me” (Malaysia) The Director: Mattie Do
Mattie Do
Born and raised in California to Laotian-Vietnamese parents, Mattie Do holds the distinction of being Laos’ first female film director.
Despite being relatively new to the industry, UNESCO-listed town that lost its last Did you ever think you’d end up running a her progress has been impressive; this year her public cinema decades ago – in a festival in Laos? latest movie, Dearest Sister, was the first ever country that barely produces one film I hadn’t really considered it, but when I decided Laos film to be submitted for the Academy a year – is not the most likely location for an to move to Laos, I knew I wanted to stay within Awards’ foreign language category. international film festival. However, the Luang my field, and had to find a way to do that. Prabang Film Festival has defied the odds. Having previously worked as a ballet dancer Founded in 2010 by American media studies and makeup artist, she confesses that her route graduate Gabriel Kuperman, it has grown to philosophy? to film was completely accidental. become a showcase of films from the ASEAN One of the most important aspects of our region – noted for its free screenings that take festival is that it’s completely free and open to It all started when she relocated to Laos after place at venues transformed into temporary the public. This is why our logo is a blue plastic her widowed father decided to return in 2010. cinemas. The 2017 edition will take place 8-13 chair: it’s ubiquitous, casual and easy. While the Do and her screenwriter husband Chris Larsen’s December at various locations. festival has grown throughout the years, we’ve arrival coincided with the launch of the first managed to maintain its intimacy and warmth. Luang Prabang Film Festival. The couple The Founder: Gabriel Kuperman quickly got to meet those involved in the What’s new this year? country’s emerging film scene, including On 9 and 10 December, we will be holding our production company Lao Art Media – second Talent Lab for South-East Asian responsible for Laos’ first non-government filmmakers, led by the Tribeca Film Institute. commissioned film, Sabaidee Luang Prabang. The filmmaker of the best project will be Impressed by Larsen’s industry knowledge, selected to attend the TFI Network market at they asked him to direct a new film; with no the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival. language skills or directorial experience, he declined but volunteered Do for the job. The Gabriel Kuperman couple collaborated on a script, and work on In 2008, 20-something Washington DC native today? Do’s first film, Chanthalay, soon began. Gabriel Kupermen expected to spend just When we founded this project, Laos was only three days in Luang Prabang as part of a producing one or two feature films per year. As a filmmaker, Do is drawn to dark stories set whistle-stop tour around the region. Instead, Now, that number has grown to four or five. It’s in contemporary Vientiane. Crucially, she also he ended up staying for three months – long not just quantity – the quality of films has feels it is important to have women in lead enough to know that Luang Prabang was improved a great deal as well, with several roles, rather than the typical handsome male where he belonged. Now 33, he set up the going on to be screened in international protagonist. We sat down with Do to learn festival as a means of showing South-East Asian festivals around the world. more about the challenges she’s faced and her films to a wider audience. views on her recent success. Page 1 of 2 When I moved here, the film industry was virtually non-existent. There were no official cinemas, only small venues showing bootleg movies. The only film we were aware of was the 2008 romantic drama, Sabaidee Luang Prabang, which was the first film made in Laos since the 1975 communist revolution. The first Luang Prabang Film Festival gave us encouragement that change was coming. Now in its eighth year, it has grown to be the country’s most important cultural event.
What are some of the biggest challenges Starting out knowing little about filmmaking has been an advantage, as I don’t know what The Handicraft Market should intimidate me. However, there are challenges that come from being an Prabang Film Festival. Do describes it as “a Azerai Luang Prabang extroverted woman in a conservative country. supernatural psycho-thriller about the Some people think I am brazen, but then I think struggles of a modern Laotian woman being I need to be in order to accomplish what I do. brought up by her conservative father, after the At the same time, the government is happy to death of her mother”. have someone who is actively promoting Laotian art and culture. It takes motivation and passion to make sure our stories get seen.
Azerai Luang Prabang What does your Laotian heritage mean to you? The star-studded opening reception will be I was lucky that my parents didn’t instil any held around the hotel’s courtyard pool, with preconceived notions of what it is to be food catered by talented chef Ben Faker and his team. Laotian. That said, identity is incredibly Dearest Sister important. I am Laotian enough to fit in, but international enough to see that there are Dearest Sister – Released in late 2016, this issues we need to work on. My films enable me supernatural thriller depicts the social struggles to show people how I see things both as a local of Laotian women living in a rigid hierarchy. The and as someone looking in. story follows a village girl who moves to Vientiane to care for a rich cousin who has lost How did you react to your Oscar her sight, but can now talk with the dead. The nomination? film is Laos’ first submission for the Best I never imagined I would ever have a film Foreign Language Film award at the Oscars. submitted to the Academy Awards – and Sofitel Luang Prabang potentially compete for an Oscar! I feel an City of Cinemas immense joy and pride to represent my The festival’s free screenings will take place at Daytime screenings and talks will take place country. venues transformed into temporary cinemas. in an elegant teak house on the grounds of the former governer’s residence.
Mattie Do’s Filmography The Handicraft Market Chanthalay – Do’s directorial debut was the A big screen and a sea of 800 plastic chairs take This article was originally published in the first horror film to be written, directed and shot over this corner of the night market, one of Luang November 2017 issue of Silkwinds magazine. entirely in Laos. It premiered at the 2012 Luang Prabang’s most popular tourist attractions. Page 2 of 2 HOME > FILM > ASIA NOVEMBER 7, 2017 8:15AM PT Oscar Foreign-Language Rookies Overcame Daunting Odds
By Damon Wise
Identity was definitely important to Guetty Felin, whose film “Ayiti Mon Amour” is representing Haiti. “I was born in Haiti,” she says, “and my parents moved to the United States when I was 9 months old. My father decided that we should go back, and so between the ages of 2½ and 9 I lived in Haiti. Those were the formative years for me I think. I think I can say that those were the years that made me want to make films.”
Felin’s selection, chosen for its export value after a high-profile bow at TIFF led to multiple international festival bookings, has made major waves at home. “It’s big for Haiti, even just to have come thus far,” says Felin. “It means that for us inside of Haiti making films that, ‘OK, we can actually put an industry together that is solid.’ It will validate the fact that cinema is a form of expression that can brand us differently. Because Haiti has an image issue and we do fall under the tropes of, like, being the poorest country in the Western hemisphere. It’s a place of ‘voodoo’ — without necessarily understanding what voodoo is. Or dire poverty — disasters of biblical The first foreign-language Oscar was presented in 1957, record-breaking year for film production in Laos, and I proportion and so on. So it allows us to shift the not so much to its director Federico Fellini as to the whole think we ended up only making three films, perhaps four,” conversation a little bit. of Italy for his acclaimed “La Strada,” which beat out she says. “I’m still stunned, and I think Laos itself doesn’t competition from Japan, Germany, France and Denmark. quite understand the gravity of how serious it is to have a “In fact,” she laughs, “I have a friend from the Caribbean That year, only eight countries submitted films, but the film in the foreign-language category. It’s a huge step who said, ‘This is not just big for Haiti, it’s big for the number has increased sharply in the decades since, forward for Laos, and that it will motivate our country to Caribbean.’ I thought, ‘OK, more pressure!’” reaching new heights this year when 92 countries make more films of higher quality, films that can be submitted titles for consideration — a record for the noticed and shared.” Perhaps the most brave and bizarre new nomination, category. however, comes from Syria, with Sam Kadi’s “Little ”It’s big for Haiti, even just to have Gandhi” — a doc about peace activist Ghiyath Matar, Entries from Haiti, Honduras, Lao People’s Democratic directed remotely by an expat in Turkey via Skype and Republic, Mozambique, Senegal and Syria — countries come thus far. It means that for us selected by a panel of exiled artists. “The challenge was torn by war, riven by natural disaster or simply lacking in inside of Haiti making films that, how to get the footage out of Syria,” says Kadi. “I any kind of industry infrastructure whatsoever — joined ‘OK, we can actually put an thought maybe if [the Syrians] could connect with me the race this year. online, they could upload the footage. They said, ‘Yes, we industry together that is solid.“ can do that, but it might take three years to get the The nomination certainly came as a surprise for Mattie GUETTY FELIN footage up, because we can’t upload more than one Do, whose second feature “Dearest Sister” was chosen to gigabyte a week even if our computer works 24/7. That’s represent Laos. From Mozambique comes Licínio Azevedo’s “The Train of the maximum — it’s pretty slow.” Instead, they found Salt and Sugar.” The movie centers on a train that crossed someone willing to take a massive risk and have a series “One day I woke up and there was an email from the the northern part of Mozambique during civil war in the of USB drives taped to his body. “He managed to get Luang Prabang Film Festival announcing that they had ’80s. Azevedo refers to his film as an “African Western,” almost 70% of the footage,” says Kadi, who tracked that facilitated the means for Laos to create a selection but notes that the country is firmly rooted in non-fiction. footage from Damascus to Lebanon then back to Turkey. committee qualified to submit a film to the Academy, and that they would like to invite my film to participate.” Do “Mozambique has a long documentary tradition,” he says. Now a U.S. citizen, Kadi has no idea how the Syrian says. “It was pretty nuts. I think I read the letter twice and “The National Institute of Cinema was the first cultural regime reacted to the news of his film’s selection. “We’re looked for small print to see if it was a joke or not.” institution to be created after the country’s independence in a very tricky situation,” he says. “We are very fortunate in 1975. Our first president knew that a country without and unfortunate the same time. Because we’re fortunate Coming from a performance-based but non-film images would turn into a country without memory. to be [in the] running — a story told by Syrians, made by background, and claiming — tongue firmly in cheek — to Mozambique had an illiteracy rate of more than 90% — a Syrians. Because it shows who they are. But at the same have learned her craft from “a large semi-outdated text heavy legacy from the colonial period. Cinema turned out time it’s unfortunate because we don’t really have the book called ‘Directing,’” Do points out that “the industry to be an efficient tool for educating the people and, most support of our country. We’re just individuals trying to get in Laos is tiny. importantly, for the ideological work that needed to be this thing going. done with the population in order to strengthen the “We have almost no professional infrastructure or local national identity and the creation of a Mozambican nation, “I’m sure they were shocked,” he continues. “But this is crew to use for films, so we end up having to DIY where there are 30 different spoken languages.” something they can’t take away from us. It’s over. We are everything. Literally, last year was a huge and the very first selection.” Vientiane Times Wednesday September 20, 2017 23 Arts & Leisure “Dearest Sister” is first Lao film selected as Oscar entry
One of the central characers in the film. A spooky scene from Dearest Sister.
Times Reporters Making films in a country where the film Luang Prabang Film Festival Board industry is still underdeveloped has its Member and Indochina Productions Mattie Do’s film Dearest Sister was the difficulties according to Do. Founding Partner and Executive first Lao film selected on Monday for Producer, Nicholas Simon, says the Oscars submission, as its official entry “The greatest challenge of making a film Luang Prabang Film Festival formed the for best foreign- language film at the in Laos is having to work with no committee as part of the project’s 90th Academy Awards. resources, hardly any budget, and almost mission to promote Lao lm on the world no professional infrastructure for films,” stage. The thriller follows the story of Nok, an said Do. impoverished young woman who moves “We wanted Laos to be represented in the from her rural village to Vientiane to take However, following the relatively foreign- language entries along with the care of her cousin Ana, a wealthy woman untrodden path of being a filmmaker in rest of the world’s countries,” said married to an Estonian expatriate. Laos has its upsides too. Simon.
Ana is gradually losing her sight and “The benefits of working in a new “While the Lao film industry is still in its simultaneously seeing ghosts that environment like Laos without infancy, there are Lao films that deserve communicate to her a mysterious pre-existing structure is actually that the Academy’s consideration. And the message of numbers--numbers that Nok everything I make is new,” said Do. knowledge that a Lao film could be eventually uses to win the lottery. “Because there aren’t any locked considered for an Oscar will only serve expectations about what a Lao film to improve Lao filmmaking and This film was selected for the 2014 should be, I have the freedom to create encourage more production.” Cannes Film Festival as part its La something completely unique that hasn’t Fabrique des Cinémas du Monde existed before.” Director of the Lao government’s programme and had its world premiere at Department of Cinema, Vithoun Austin’s Fantastic Fest in September Do’s film was selected by Laos’ newly Sundara, also sees the significance that 2016. formed AMPAS Selection Committee, the new Oscar eligibility will have for comprised of six professionals, all Lao Lao filmmakers. Dearest Sister--which is a co-production nationals, from the Lao film and media of Laos (Lao Art Media), France (Screen industries. “Dearest Sister competing for Best Division), Estonia (Oree Films)--comes Foreign Language Film is a wonderful as Do’s second title and the second- ever The committee was facilitated by the development for the Lao film industry,” Lao horror film, with her directorial Luang Prabang Film Festival, a he said. debut Chanthaly being the first. Do is celebration of Southeast Asian cinema also the first female director of a Lao held annually in Luang Prabang, the “The possibility of being considered for feature film. nation’s cultural capital and a UNESCO an Academy Award along with films World Heritage Site. from the other participating countries That this is the first year Laos will send will surely inspire and motivate Lao a film to the Academy of Motion Picture This year’s main event will take place filmmakers in the years to come.” Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) from December 8-13 and will showcase demonstrates how young the country’s 32 feature films and several programmes film industry is. of shorts for over 22,000 attendees.
MOVIES REVIEWS THE RACE BOX OFFICE HEAT VISION Luang Prabang Festival Founder on Building the “Sundance of Asia” (Q&A)
this year to multiple venues and featured performances, Q&As with guest directors disappearance of Southeast Asia’s classic movie houses.
“Our ultimate vision is to make the festival into something like Asia’s version of Sun- dance,” said LPFF board member Bree Fitzgerald. “This is such a beautiful place to visit and the city is well stocked with amazing boutique hotels. If we keep our continue to grow.”
Not long after a sunset cruise on the Me- The opening outdoor screening of the Luang Prabang Film Festival attracted a crowd of 1,500 kong, a new addition to the festival for vis- Courtesy Luang Prabang Film Festival - H 2014 - by Patrick Brzeski 12/11/2014 sphere and what it’s like building a world- locations. - val in northern Laos? locale is the perfect place for a major industry gathering It’s hard to imagine a more improbable lo- before moving to Laos. There, I received my Luang Prabang, Laos. The sleepy, historic in an open-air plaza adjacent to the city’s - city has no working cinemas and Laos—one famed night bizarre, attracting a record nies like Viacom, Clear Channel, and small- of the world’s poorest nations—produces er production houses. When I decided to visiting cineastes and curious tourists. move to Laos in 2008, I wanted to start a - A beloved gem on the Southeast Asian trav- Founded in 2010 by American Gabriel ché as it sounds, make a difference here. el circuit and UNESCO world heritage town, Kuperman, the festival began with just It was clear that there was not much of a Luang Prabang is nestled on the banks of a handful of screenings held at one out- the Mekong river and typically attracts vis- door venue. This year, it played nearly 30 itors interested in all things ancient—bus- movies from Laos, Myanmar, the Phil- there was only one working cinema in the tling night markets, orange-robed monks ippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia entire country. This latter fact is still the and resplendent Buddhist temples—rath- and Malaysia, including Thai blockbuster - er than contemporary screen culture. And Pee Mak Phrakanong and Cambodian au- ing a theater in mid-2015. The former has yet, the Luang Prabang Film Festival, which teur Rithy Panh’s 2013 Oscar nominee, The Missing Picture. The event remains the rise, having transformed its liabilities - increase since our founding. It was also and eccentricities into compelling selling clear there was not a single major festival points. in the region that just focused on Southeast
Page 1 of 2 Luang Prabang Festival Founder on Building the “Sundance of Asia” (Q&A) by Patrick Brzeski 12/11/2014
Asian cinema. So, we created a space for I do believe Lao people need to be able to What role do you see the festival playing these regional artists to get together and developing, and that content is being cre- other, and pool resources for promotion ated for them. Lao have been far too reli- One of the festival’s activities about which of Southeast Asian cinema to other parts ant on Thai media for many years, and I am I am most pleased is the Lao Filmmakers’ - glad to see these sectors developing rapidly Fund. In this, the fund’s second year, we makers that it is possible for them to have in the country. were able to raise a whopping $15,000 for use by local artists, the bulk of which came neighboring countries. Our open-air night venue is more geared to from a hugely generous donation from Co- What made you think a festival could there are Lao and Thai, so they are more ac- as little as $5,000). In addition to forging thrive here? cessible to Lao people. Generally, they are we try each year to have a bigger and big- - in our indoor day venue are more edgy or ger impact on the development of the Lao tion events, so Luang Prabang, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a very touristed from the fund, we are quite literally mak- one at that, is a perfect place for that. One ing production possible. I see this as one of the advantages of the town is that it’s so What’s your vision for the festival’s devel- of the greatest tangible successes of our opment over the next few years? still-growing project. festival everywhere while you are here, and it’s very easy to get between our screening We want it to continue being a festival with- venues, which are all in walking distance of in the same spirit—local, casual, accessible, each other. collaborative—while growing and being able to have an impact on more people. We want I was struck by how many kids and fam- to have more master classes, more discus- sions, more workshops. We want the world how excited they seemed to be about see- to know that the Luang Prabang Film Fes- ing a movie on a big screen in their own tival is the place to go to see the best and language. How do you balance the inter- ests of the local and international audi- I think we are already on that road, but it’s ences?
Page 2 of 2 TRAVEL A Town Without a Cinema: Where Better for a Film Festival? a picturesque Laotian city with ample charms but not a single working cinema
By Ron Gluckman | Nov. 29, 2012 |
One of Southeast Asia’s most ambitious !lm festivals is staged each December in Luang Prabang, a picturesque Laotian city with ample charms but not a single working cinema. Nonetheless, the Luang Prabang Film Festival, held this year from Dec. 1 to Dec. 5, showcases a potpourri of the region’s top !lms plus rare foot- age from the archives of this reclusive communist nation.
“Nothing has been that easy,” concedes founder and festival director Gabriel Kuperman, 28. A"er earning his master’s in media studies from New York City’s New School, he visited this UNESCO Courtesy Luang Prabang Film Festival - A still from The Land Beneath the Fog. -heritage site along the Mekong River on vacation in 2008 and instantly felt it would the region’s emerging talents. “One reason screenings take place at a local hotel, in be his next home. He returned with a pair we focus on Southeast Asian cinema is a handicra" market and at the Project of suitcases, unbridled enthusiasm and no to help develop the Lao !lm industry,” Space design studio and gallery. Standout idea what the future held. “I didn’t know Kuperman notes. “By looking at !lms !lms this year include Who Killed Chea what I would do here, but I knew I had to from thriving industries in neighboring Vichea?, a documentary about the assas- come back and make it work.” countries, Lao people can more easily see sination of a Cambodian union leader that a successful industry here is actually and the ensuing cover-up, and $e Land A"er studying the Lao language and attainable.” Five Lao !lms are on the Beneath the Fog, a look at climate change immersing himself in the local culture, he program this year, including the premiere in Java by Shalahuddin Siregar. Both came up with the idea of a !lm festival. of the horror #ick Chanthaly. directors will be on hand at the festival, Despite its lack of cinemas, Luang Prabang which also o%ers short Lao !lms, exhibi- already attracts hordes of tourists. Yet Despite a shoestring annual budget of tions and panel discussions. Everything is Kuperman doesn’t cater to the masses. under $50,000, the festival maintains lo"y free. standards, utilizing volunteer !lm experts Now in its third year, his festival eschews from Southeast Asian nations to suggest established cinematic names to focus on submissions. Without a cinema to hand,