When was the last time you saw a Malaysian film? An Indonesian? A Vietnamese? The odds are even lower for a Myanmar or a Bruneian. As the Asean banner is being splashed across the region, with the emphasis on the economic free-flow, the cultural exchange among Southeast Asians remains a glaring deficit. Cinema, perhaps the most accessible form of cultural expression, is no exception.
Attempts have been made to address this. This week, the Ministry of Culture hosts Bangkok Asean Film Festival 2015 at SF World, featuring 10 titles from each of the 10 Asean nations (see box), where you'll be able to catch rarities such as a Bruneian drama, a Cambodian love story and a Malaysian comedy. It's one of the first government-sponsored film events with a sole focus on Asean, but it's not the first that Bangkok has ever seen. Earlier this month, a film club called Film Kawan organised the Asean Film Festival, an annual showcase that started in 2009. Also just last week, Thai Short Film and Video Festival had a section called S-Express, which screened short films from the region -- again, this section has been a fixture at the festival since 2001.
Back when Asean wasn't a buzz word, the idea that seemed so natural also sounded like a novelty.
"We met film programmers from Malaysia and Singapore in 2000, and each of us realised that though we're neighbours, we hardly ever saw films from one another's countries," says Chalida Uabumrungjit, who founded the Thai Short Film and Video Festival, a pioneer in Asean film screening. "We began exchanging films, and soon Indonesia and the Philippines joined in."
The Last Reel, from Cambodia.
Those were mainly short films, meaning items for festivals and special events out of the commercial circuit and regular multiplexes. In terms of mass-market cinema, the circulation of Southeast Asian titles in the past decade is not entirely non-existent, but it's largely one way: some Thai commercial films, especially horror films and lately some romantic comedy, have been widely released in the multiplexes of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Laos and the Philippines.
The reverse traffic, however, is hardly the case (the Indonesian thriller The Raid was released here in 2012, the first in at least two decades, while the Singaporean award-winning Ilo Ilo had a limited release in Bangkok two years ago).
But Thai films have flown the flag in the region. Hit titles such as Nang Nak, a 1997 period ghost story, and Shutter, another horror fest from early 2000s, pushed open the doors for the Asean market. Most horror films -- good and bad, small or big -- are usually distributed in Malaysia and Singapore to a varying degree of box office success. Action films like Ong-Bak and Tom Yum Goong in the mid-2000s did fairly well, too. Recently, the 2013 smash hit Phi Mak Phrakanong was a prime example of a popular cross-over that satisfied the Southeast Asian taste in the horror genre.
"In the 1990s, there was a slump in all Asean film markets," says Sittha Lertphaiboonsiri, scholar and founder of Film Kawan, which organised the Southeast Asian Film Festival. "But the Thai film industry had a revival first in the late 1990s, with films like Nang Nak, and that sort of helped encourage other industries in the region."
In the "Three Pillars" of Asean, the first two concern political security and economics, while the third stipulates socio-cultural co-operation among the Southeast Asian nations. Cinema, likely more than performing arts, music or literature, has a mass appeal and an ability to narrate stories, topics or issues that reach wider audiences. As Asean contemplates the similarities and differences among its 10 members, movies also have the ability to capture the concerns, obsessions, problems and preferences of the people in this part of the world that is now moving towards the goal of a community.
Big Father, Small Father And Other Stories, a Vietnamese film.
At Sittha's Southeast Asian Film Festival earlier this month, there was a Malaysian film called Second Life Of Thieves, which touches on gay issues. There were also a Filipino documentary, Yanan, about a woman who joins a separatist group, a romantic comedy from a Lao filmmaker, as well as a Thai documentary, Michael's, about two Rohingya refugees.
"There may not be clear 'similarities' among Southeast Asian films, but I believe the element of folk belief and religion is strong in many mainstream films in the region," says Sittha. "In Thai films, we see monks solving supernatural conflicts. In the Philippines, Catholic priests perform that task, while in Indonesia, it's the Islamic teachers. Maybe this is what we share in society and on screen.
"But if you talk about independent filmmakers, they touch on social issues a lot, and you can see many sensitive topics being discussed, such as politics and history. In Indonesian films, interfaith love stories are also popular. In general, I think Malaysian and Indonesian directors practice self-censorship much less than Thai filmmakers."
What’s So Special About Rina?, from Brunei.
This week, the Bangkok Asean Film Festival presents the best chance to catch films of various flavours from across the region. Pimpaka Towira, who programmes the festival for the Ministry of Culture, says that she's trying to present the rich mosaic of contemporary Southeast Asia through the movies and the people that populate them. The selection, she adds, isn't based entirely on the artistic quality of the films -- or the popularity -- but on the topics they present.
"Asean films should show more than just 'culture'. They should represent the life of the people, the wounds they have, as well as the minority groups in the countries," says Pimpaka.
"The films in the festival try to look at the present, and how the people now look back at the past -- such as in the Cambodian film The Last Reel, which deals with a memory of the Khmer Rouge, or the Singaporean film 1021, which stars an all Tamil cast. While the Vietnamese film Big Father talks about the time when the country wasn't yet as open as it is now in terms of values and mentality.
"Religion and belief, too, are among the themes we see a lot, and they show that in each of the Asean nations, the internal complexity is still visible -- in the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam. If we have to think about a 'shared' characteristic of the region, I would think about the diversity and the richness of the people and their life stories. We can't see all of them, but at least what we see in these films are very relevant to our Asean dream."
Golden Kingdom, from Myanmar.
Bangkok Asean Film Festival showtimes
Bangkok Asean Film Festival 2015 began yesterday and continues until Sunday, then the 10 films in the event will travel to Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen and Surat Thai. The venue is at SF World, CentralWorld. Since this is a government-sponsored event, admission is free. There are 10 films from 10 Asean nations.
Lelaki Harapan Dunia
Men Who Save The World | Malaysia | Directed by Liew Seng-tat
In this quirky comedy, a group of Malaysian villagers try to move an old, abandoned house from a forest. The problem is that the house is believed to be haunted, while the Islamic holiday is also approaching.
The Last Reel
Cambodia | Directed by Kulikar Sotho
A young girl wanders into an abandoned cinema and finds her mother's pictures on the wall. It turns out that her mother was once a famous actress who lost everything in the Khmer Rouge era.
Cha Và Con Và
Big Father, Small Father And Other Stories | Vietnam | Directed by Dang Di Phan
Set in the late 1990s, the film revolves around a group of young men and one orphaned woman in a Ho Chi Minh City slum. This is a drama that looks at individuals struggling to find a place in a changing society.
Bwaya
Crocodile | Philippines | Directed by Francis Xavier Pasion
Set in a marshland in Mindanao, the film is based on a true event when a young girl is attacked by a crocodile. Her mother sets out to find her daughter's body, but along the way she encounters something worse.
1021
(Singapore | Directed by Vicknesh Saravanan)
What makes this family drama special is that it features a story of the Tamil people in Singapore. With an all-Tamil cast, the story concerns the trials and tribulations of a girl with a drug-abusing father, as well as a man who may be able to save her.
Ada Apa Dengan Rina?
What's So Special About Rina? | Brunei | Directed by Farid Azlan Ghani and Harlif Hj Mohamad
There's not really a film industry in Brunei, but here's an attempt from one of the country's directors to tell the story of his society. This Bruneian comedy drama is about an unmarried 30-year-old man facing the pressure of his family to find a woman and start a family.
Huk Ey Ly
Really Love | Laos | Directed by Phoumsana Sirivongsa
This comedy, which had successful box office figures, was directed by one of Laos' best-known comedians, Phoumsana Sirivongsa. A mix of gags, youth culture and family drama, the film will remind many of Thai comedy, though the Lao flavour remains distinctive.
Golden Kingdom
Myanmar | Directed by Brian Perkins
Directed by an American though steeped in the Myanmar spirit, the film tells a story of four young monks left alone in their remote monastery and forced to fight their way into a changing environment.
Siti
Indonesia | Directed by Eddie Cahyono
This black-and-white drama centres on the title character, Siti, a woman who hawks snacks during the day and works in a karaoke joint in the night. Trying to support her family, Siti is forced to make difficult choices in a world that's not entirely kind to her.
Latitude Tee Hok
The Sixth Latitude | Thailand | Directed by Thanadol Nualsut
A love story set in the restive Deep South of Thailand.
