PAISIT PUNPRUKSACHAT'S RETROSPECTIVE TODAY

Four films by Paisit Punpruksachat (Kiang) will be shown at Bioscope Magazine office today at 19.00 hrs. I don’t know if the films have English subtitles or not.

You can read the details of the program in Thai at Merveillesxx’ blog:
http://www.bloggang.com/viewdiary.php?id=merveillesxx&month=03-2008&date=10&group=1&gblog=123

I have seen only three short films by Paisit: TELECHANTE (1992, A+), ESCAPE FROM POPRAYA 2526 (2007, A+) and BROTHERS (2007, Jiraporn Jaipang + Paisit Punpruksachat, A+). These three films are experimental.

Some trivia on Paisit:

1.In A Trick of Light’s blog, there is a photo of Paisit and Apichatpong Weerasethakul in 1997. Paisit is on the left side of the photo. Apichatpong is on the right side. The information on the blog says that they were just resting during the filming of MYSTERIOUS OBJECT AT NOON (2000). At that moment, the two people looked ahead. They could not imagine how the future of the Thai film industry will be. However, they didn’t know that they were creating a history for the Thai film industry.
http://atrickofthelight.wordpress.com/2008/03/02/

2.Paisit wrote a Thai article in the book FILMVIRUS 1.

3. In the magazine THAI FILM QUATERLY, Volume 11, Kittiphol Sarakkhanon wrote an article about the feature film THE CRUELTY AND THE SOY-SAUCE MAN (2000, Paisit Panpruksachat, 97 min). This film is available as DVD. You can buy it from some stalls in Jatujak or from the following website:
http://www.thaishortfilm.com/shop_product1_2.html


Apichatpong wrote about Paisit in the brochure of THE BANGKOK EXPERIMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL 3 (2001). Here is what he wrote:

“Paisit Phanprucksachat (Kiang)

One can look at Kiang’s life as a representation of a state of Thai independent video. In his desperation to tell stories, he equipped himself with sound recorders, home made microphones, and a still camera. In my opinion, he was, consciously or not, made to become the first modern experimental filmmaker in Thailand. His progression from stills, sounds, and finally to video mirrors the struggling path of other independent filmmakers.

Familiarized with him through working together on MYSTERIOUS OBJECT AT NOON (2000) in early 1998, I had a chance to see his photographs. They are mostly somber, black and white depiction of ruins and details of buildings, evoking the mood not unlike Derek Jarman’s or science fiction’s narrative. And by hearing his idea for several films, I incorporate these images with the stories in my mind. I found that Kiang’s filmic world is filled with dark and apocalyptic humor. He combines Thai popular cultures (i.e. pop songs, celebrities) with his own chosen environs (his cramp flat, junk yard, Chao Praya river). These fantasies are creepily modern yet filled with nostalgia. They are like homemade dishes cooked by a remote control.

When Kiang made videos, however, he chose to present them in a documentary style. One of his early works was a six-hour video recording his chat with his roommate Klass (who was also my crew, working as a sound recorder). The camera was fixed on a tripod and was never moved. It documented the two in their room arguing about the existence of gods and their religious teachings, in the most unpretentious way one can think of. It feels like they were always discussing the matter and the camera happened to capture the event that night. They talked until they were drawn out and until their speeches were slurred. The morning radio was heard, and we saw them slept, engulfed by the slowly shifting light of dawn. I thought this work was a documentary. But when I knew him better, I was not quite sure that he would not lead the unsuspicious Klass to his direction, to fulfill his planned structures and contents.”


Paisit Punpruksachat’s partial filmography:

1.ATTIPAWANIYOM SUKSAN (HAPPY EXISTENTIALISM) (6 min)

2.BROTHERS (2007, co-directed with Jiraporn Jaipang, 10 min)

3.THE CRUELTY AND THE SOY-SAUCE MAN (2000)

4.ESCAPE FROM POPRAYA 2526 (2007)

5.KLASS AND KIANG TALKING (six-hour-long)

6.MADANG BO SAI (1999)

7.SAT WIBAK NAK LOK (78 min)

8.TELECHANTE (1992)

9.TUNG GAMMALORE (FAKE FIELD) (18 min)