TANWARIN SUKKHAPISIT'S RETROSPECTINVE ON MAY 21

Tanwarin Sukkhapisit's retrospective will be held on Saturday, May 21, at 1500-1800 hrs, on the 9th floor of BACC. The event is held by Bodin Theparat. The poster is designed by Akira Kangwanpat. The details are as follows:

"ฉายหนังสั้นของธัญญ์วาริน สุขะพิสิษฐ์ 7 เรื่อง
ในงาน "You Say You Want a Revolution: เปลี่ยนเถิดชาวไทย"
21 พฤษภาคม 2554 เวลา 15.00-18.00 น.

หนังสั้นที่ฉาย
-I’m Fine สบายดีค่ะ
-กะเทยนรก (Queer)
-ตุ๊กตาอยู่ไหน (Where’s My Doll)
-แหวน (The Ring)
-เด็กหลง (Lost Child)
-เปลือก (Deep Inside)
-รักผิดบาป (In the Name of Sin)

ดำเนินรายการโดย ชญานิน เตียงพิทยากร
ที่ชั้น 9 หอศิลป์กทม. ตรงข้ามมาบุญครอง เข้าชมฟรี"

--You can financially help Tanwarin fighting the Censorship Board in Thailand via the link below:
http://www.facebook.com/fightforinsects

--Wise Kwai's review on PHONE MOOD (2007, Tanwarin Sukkhapisit)
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/wisekwai/2007/09/09/entry-1

--Filmsick's review in Thai on INSECTS IN THE BACKYARD (2010, Tanwarin Sukkhapisit)
http://filmsick.exteen.com/20101120/insetcs-in-the-backyard-2010

--Filmsick's review in Thai on HUG NA SARAKHAM (2011, Tanwarin Sukkhapisit)
http://filmsick.exteen.com/20110311/entry


TANWARIN SUKKHAPISIT, ONE OF THE LEADERS OF THAI QUEER CINEMA

Things I like in Tanwarin's films include:

1.How she presents different viewpoints of different characters, or distorted viewpoints of some characters. Tanwarin's films show us that our viewpoints are actually very limited, and often lead us to misunderstanding or wrong conclusions. Films in this category include:

1.1 THE RING (2001, 29 min)
If I remember it correctly, this film tells the same story three times; each time with a different viewpoint.

1.2 DEEP INSIDE (2001, 23 min)
If I remember it correctly, this film also tells the same story three times; each time with a different viewpoint.

1.3 FAKE WORLD (ลวงโลก/โลกลวง) (2007, 13 min)
If I remember it correctly, this film shows us the life of an actress, and then shows us this actress' life again but via the distorted viewpoint of the media.

1.4 WHERE'S MY DOLL? (2008, 5 min)
If I understand it correctly, this film tells us the story of a blind man who loves a woman. But because he is blind, he doesn't know that his lover is actually a transvestite.

1.5 INSECTS IN THE BACKYARD (2010, 93 min)
This film shows us the life of a father, a son, and a daughter, and how wrongly they may perceive one another.


2.The contrast between your appearance and your real self.

2.1 DEEP INSIDE
This film shows us a male teacher who looks like an ordinary male teacher, but actually he is not. This film shows us a woman who looks like a tough prostitute, but she is also a university student.

2.2 IN THE NAME OF SIN (2006, 36 min, co-directed with Nikorn Sripongwarakul)
This film shows us a male teacher who has trouble with keeping up the appearance of "a respectable male teacher".

2.3 UNDISCOVERED HEART (2007, 22 min)
This film shows us a gay, who may look slutty on the outside, but has a real heart on the inside.

2.4 INSECTS IN THE BACKYARD
This film shows us a drag queen who likes to dress glamorously, but he is also a father, and his life is not as glamorous as his dresses.

2.5 HUG NA SARAKHAM
This film shows us a handsome university student who lies to his fellow students that he comes from Bangkok, though in fact he comes from a rural province. He has a talent in singing and performing in a traditional folk style, but he tries to hide his talent from his friends.

In contrast, this film also shows us a doctor who is not ashamed to be a traditional folk performer. This doctor doesn't have the problem of "your appearance vs. your real self".


3. Queer desire
Tanwarin's films satisfy my romantic imaginations. Compared to some other queer Thai filmmakers, her films are not as experimental as Apichatpong Weerasethakul, not as provocative as Michael Shaowanasai, not as structurally interesting as Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke, and not as funny as Poj Arnon (with the exception of HUG NA SARAKHAM, which is funnier than Poj's films), but I find her films very romantic, though it often comes with a bitter taste. Tanwarin's films which satisfy my romantic imaginations include:

3.1 THE RING
3.2 DEEP INSIDE
3.3 IN THE NAME OF SIN
3.4 UNDISCOVERED HEART

4. Strong or memorable female characters. Some female characters in Tanwarin's films are far from being the object of male desire, but they are very interesting.

4.1 DEEP INSIDE
I like the female university student in this film very much. She is very tough and very scary.

4.2 TOP SECRET (2005, 18 min)
I think Tanwarin looks very good as a female spy in South Korea in this film, though the film is not as interesting as her character.

4.3 PHONE MOOD (2007)
I like it very much that PHONE MOOD presents many female characters who look like normal people, instead of looking like "adorable female stars".

4.4 INSECTS IN THE BACKYARD
I like the daughter in this film very much. She is a very tough character.

4.5 HUG NA SARAKHAM
I like the character of Sudarat Bootprom in this film very much. She plays a horny female character, which is a kind of character who is often relegated to a supporting role in most Thai films, but in this film she is the leading role.


5.Some interesting ideas
Some of Tanwarin's films have interesting ideas, though I think only some of them are successful in presenting their ideas, while others fail a little bit, because the latter group of films don't have the poetic touches which can keep the whole things flow smoothly. I think the successful one is I'M FINE (2008, 4 min), which presents some social/political ideas. I think its success is partly due to the fact that the film is not too ambitious.

I like some of Tanwarin's films very much, especially THE RING, DEEP INSIDE, UNDISCOVERED HEART, INSECTS IN THE BACKYARD, and HUG NA SARAKHAM. Though I don't like some of her films that much, I still like some ideas, some weird moments, or some memorable moments in them, such as:

5.1 INTO THE SEED (ในเปลือก) (2006, 30 min)
The film tries to tell its story in a non-chronological way. I like this idea or the attempt to make a film in this way very much, though the film ends up confusing me a lot.

5.2 LOOK AT ME! (2007, 5 min)
I don't know what this film means, but I still think it is interesting. The film shows us a view of a house from the outside on a dark, rainy night. I expect some bad things to happen, such as a murder, a burglary, or a crime. I saw someone move inside the house, but I don't know what he or she does in the end.

5.3 PHONE MOOD
I like the idea of this film very much, and I admire the attempt to make a film like this. It shows us many female characters while they are telephoning. But I think the film suffers from the same problem as INTO THE SEED. Both films don't flow smoothly and don't have a satisfying emotional trajectory.

5.4 PENGUIN (2008)
I like Tanwarin's attempt to remake PENGUIN (2007, Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit) in her own way. I don't remember any details in Tanwarin's PENGUIN, except that it is a little bit weird and lovely film.


FAVORITE THAI QUEER FILMS

(in alphabetical order)

1.ALONG THE RIVER (2004, Anucha Boonyawattana, 52 min)

2.ALTERNATE ROUTE (ทางเบี่ยง) (1999, Tanon Sattarujawong, 14 min)

3.BANK IS SEXUALLY HARASSED IN A CLASSROOM (น้องแบงค์โดนอีกแล้ว) (2011, Joburnz, 1 min)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpl4pQalqm8

4.BIRTHDAY (วันเกิด) (2001, Suwan Huangsirisakul, 21 min)

5.BODILY FLUID IS SO REVOLUTIONARY (2009, Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke, 41 min)

6.BUS STOP (ที่หยุด-จุดเริ่มต้น) (2004, Tosaporn Mongkol, 30 min)

7.CHAN POOCHAI NAYA (THE BOYS IN THE BAND) (1987, M.L. Bhandevanop Devakul)

8.EARTHCORE (2005, Chookiat Sakveerakul)

9.GOGO (ลงสนาม) (2010, Jurarak Kongpol, 3 min)

10.HASAN (2008, Attapon Pamakho, 29 min)

11.HERSTORY (เรื่องของเธอ) (1999, Buddhiporn Boossabarati, 18 min)

12.HOW TO CAST MY DEAR FRIENDS? (เพื่อนรัก เพื่อนร้าย) (2010, Pichet Smerchua, 25 min)

13.IN BROAD DAYLIGHT (กลางวันแสกๆ) (2003, Tayart Datsathean + Phisan Sangjan, 10 min)

14.INSECTS IN THE BACKYARD

15.KKK (KHOB KHUN KHRAB) (1996, Michael Shaowanasai, 8 min)

16.MAHJONG (2009, Napha Sasalak, 15 min)

17.ONE TRUE THING (2007, Vichart Somkaew, 80 min)

18.PASSION SONATA (2009, Suphisara Kittikunarak)

19.POPULAR (สมัยนิยม) (2009, Korn Kanogkekarin, 16 min)

20.SCAR (2010, Arthawut Boonyuang, 12 min)

21.SURREPTITIOUS (ซ่อนเร้น) (2010, Thitikarn Kanchanapakdee, 13 min)

22.TOM/TRANS/THAI (2011, ComPeung + Jai Arun Ravine)

23.THE TRANSVESTITE IS THE CAUSE (กระเทยเป็นเหตุ) (1947, Ledger Group of Monthol Bank, 10 min)

24.TROPICAL MALADY (2004, Apichatpong Weerasethakul)

25.THE XFREE (2000, Wasanta Samrong, 5 min)

26.YES OR NO (2010, Sarasawadee Wongsompetch)