We have the latest update on the Scala Theatre: Its closing date is now set for May 31.
This is likely to be the last day of Bangkok's only remaining standalone movie theatre. The Lido, less classical though still much cherished, is likely to cease operations on that day as well. Now we can start the countdown.
"The last day" may sound apocalyptic. But it's not, or hopefully not. May 31 is the last day for the Scala as we have known it for 40 years since it was built and run by Apex and the Tansatcha family. However, it ultimate fate remains to be decided and the future, bright or dark, has yet to be foretold.
First things first: Conservationists, filmgoers and architecture fans need not fear the worst: It's unlikely the Scala building will be demolished.
Fears of its imminent demolition -- not entirely unfounded -- have been rising. Rumours that the beautiful, late-modernist Scala will go have been compounded by the history of destruction committed by Chulalongkorn Property Bureau, which owns the area around Siam Square and which has torn down other structures there.
From what I've heard, it won't happen. On the contrary, the real challenge is what its stakeholders will do with the building in an attempt to define its role in the cultural and educational context of the city.
In one aspect, this is a private matter between two business entities and one that shouldn't concern the public at all. The leasing contracts for Scala and Lido are between Apex, the tenant and builder of the two cinemas in the 1970s (as well as the late Siam Theatre) and Chulalongkorn University in its capacity as a real estate developer.
According to sources, May 31 is the day Apex will walk out of the contract and relinquish the Lido and Scala into uncharted territories. And this is where the public comes in: Regarded as a historical building, an urban monument and a vault of so many fond memories, the Scala -- its unwashed curtains, curved staircase, classical toilets et al -- has become a shared cultural property, a public monument, a romantic landmark, in the mind of so many people, from moviegoers to Siam Square regulars, from architects to conservation activists.
The fact that a public university owns that plot of land has also turned the Scala issue into a public matter, especially how an educational institution can serve society. (Both Chula and Apex have largely kept mum on the matter.)
For four decades Scala has screened movies virtually every day, and the thought of it not doing that anymore has clearly struck a chord.
Since early this year, a loose group of Scala enthusiasts has banded together to ponder the theatre's future. A proposal has been drafted, and as the countdown begins it will soon be presented to the public -- and likely to Chulalongkorn University -- in order to find a way out together.
The gist of the proposal is simple: To save Scala -- not just the physical building but its soul -- the theatre should be turned into a non-profit cultural space for film, music, stage plays, performing art, etc. This is based on the logic that its facilities are in place and perhaps even better-equipped than, say, the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre across the street.
Siam Square is a hub of youth- and pop-culture, and yet the area is overloaded with retail spaces, a glut of brands, franchises and kitsch, while the absence of a venue for cultural activities is glaringly obvious.
The challenging word here is "non-profit". For four decades this has been a profit-driven venue, for both Apex and Chula. And don't forget that the cinema stands not on some back alley but on a corner of Pathumwan intersection, one of the most expensive properties in Thailand. For the landlord to turn that longstanding cash machine into a charity would take a huge amount of courage -- social and moral courage -- and yet since Chulalongkorn is a public university, one could easily argue, it has a responsibility to provide cultural education to society. Scala would be the means to do so.
The Scala issue is more than just an outcry of a few romantics who want to defy the tsunami of capitalism. It's an issue that concerns urban planning, historical preservation, cultural management, architectural heritage, and the role of Thailand's No.1 university in serving the public. The easier way out, before May 31 arrives, is for the landlord to find a new tenant (Thailand has two big cinema chains, for instance, that could probably turn Scala into their flagship property). But there is a nobler way, a more dignified way, which is also a harder way. The clock is ticking now.