The LGBT community is not always portrayed in a positive light in Thai films and other forms of media, with certain stereotypes still prevalent whenever movies, in particular, address gender diversity. Hoping to provide a more realistic and varied view of the LGBT community is the first-ever Bangkok Gay and Lesbian Film Festival (BGLFF), which opens tonight.
The festival kicks off with How To Win At Checkers (Every Time), a film about two brothers, one gay, set around a military draft day in Thailand. Another Thai movie, which will be shown as the festival's closing film on June 14, is Onthakarn (The Blue Hour); an atmospheric horror about two young male lovers who encounter bizarre incidents after their tryst by a deserted pool.
Throughout the 10-day festival, there will also be 15 titles from Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, China, Korea, the US and Europe.
It has been quite a long journey for the LGBT community in Thai films, according to Sanchai Chotirosseranee, deputy director of Film Archive and partner of the BGLFF 2015. One of the earliest known LGBT representations in Thai film came in the 1955 classic Chua Fah Din Salai. In one scene, the Thai male comedian Lor Tok dresses up as a woman and dances with another male character. From then until now, the portrayal of katoey as comic relief in films and soap operas has become the norm in Thai society.
Tragedy is also a common theme for LGBT characters. In 1985, Pleng Soodtai (The Last Song) told the story of a cabaret showgirl and her unrequited love which ended in suicide. The film was a success. It was also successful in hammering home the concept that true love doesn't exist in the rainbow community — that LGBT relationships always end in tears or even death.
Sanchai, who researched the subject thoroughly, said the international LGBT community started to have more exposure, as well as appear more ordinary — and happier — in different media, partly down to the influence of My Best Friend's Wedding in 1997, in which Rupert Everett plays the gay friend of Julia Roberts and steals the show. From then on, believes Sanchai, supporting roles began to feature more LGBT characters.
The watershed year in Thailand was 2007, when that the hit Rak Haeng Siam (The Love Of Siam) pitched gay relationships into mainstream Thai films. In the film, two high school boys deal with their budding emotions and anxiety of love in a delicate and realistic way — a stark contrast to the stock-portrayal of arm-flapping ladyboys in many gay comedies. Sanchai added that The Love Of Siam, directed by Chookiat Sakveerakul, became a phenomenon not only for the gay community but also teenage love stories.
Now, as the first gay and lesbian film festival in Thailand is upon us, it is hoped it could act as another stepping stone in the history of Thai cinema, as well as the LGBT community itself. The films chosen for the festival deal with a variety of different subjects, including acceptance, marriage, violence and many others. As well as offering a variety of film choices to audiences, the festival aims to shed light on LGBT issues around the world.
"With any film festival, it broadens the views of cinemagoers in our country, that they can see a more diverse range of films. To me, film is one of the best educational mediums out there. It can inspire and invite us to argue and think," said Sanchai.
"For gay film festivals around the world in particular, they share a common goal, and that's to call for society's acceptance for the LGBT community as ordinary humans. That has always been the agenda," the film scholar said.
BGLFF 2015 features a selection of 15 films from 12 countries. Two of them are transgender films, two are lesbian films, and the rest are films about gay men.
Thawatchai Deepattana, editor of Attitude Magazine and the main organiser, said that his team were looking for recent LGBT films that have never been shown in Thailand. Many of the films to be screened at the festival have been selected from other international film festivals like Berlin and Hong Kong.
"We don't have any particular set concept or theme. We just want there to be diversity in the content — from romance to comedy and even horror. If you watch all 15 of them, you'll see how diverse our range is. They capture the whole spectrum of the LGBT life," Thawatchai said.
Explaining why the programme had more gay-themed films, with only two titles that dealt with lesbian issues, he said: "We were interested in running more lesbian films, but many are waiting for a bigger festival like Busan."
At the mere mention of gay films, many assume that nudity and sex scenes are almost obligatory and certainly when films are classified as 18+. This means that quite often the public brands LGBT films as unsafe for youths.
"When you start to define certain films as gay, or that they have gay characters, society already judges the film," said Thawatchai.
"Gay and lesbian films are usually criticised by the media for setting bad examples for kids, but if we view gay people just as normal humans, then gay films are ordinary films with their own distinctive content and stories. They're the same as other films.
"I wouldn't say gay and lesbian films are unsuitable for kids. We do have some 13+ films as well, and they can be enjoyed by the whole family. Parents with gay sons can come and watch the film together. And they would understand more about the life of gay people.
"For the ones that receive an 18+ rating, that don't doesn't always mean there are sex scenes. Some do, but sometimes it's more for the violence or drug use shown. Those scenes understandably are not always suitable. This classification is also done to protect the films from being accused of guiding youths in the wrong direction."
One of the films chosen for the BGLFF 2015 is Thai horror film The Blue Hour by Anucha Boonyawatana. It premiered at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival in February, and tells the story of two young men, Tum and Poom, as their romantic affair is disturbed by mysterious dreams and occurrences. Anucha, long-haired and gently-spoken, has made another mid-length gay film called By The River, but The Blue Hour is his feature-length debut.
"I took inspiration from news about domestic violence — about a kid who killed his own parents and various other news stories and cases. This subject is pretty violent, and it's not widely discussed because it's quite forbidden in nature. It's about sin, kharma and belief. So, I wanted to make a film which tells these stories. But I don't intend to point to any conclusions or problems. I just want to pitch the question to society and see what conclusion they reach after watching the film," said Anucha.
The director believes the portrayal of gay men in most Thai films still follows the usual stereotypes, but he also believes that the situation is gradually improving.
"Gay men and katoey were previously portrayed as loud and obnoxious. But that is being developed and changing for the better. People can now see that gay men don't have to be feminine. They are just ordinary men who happen to like men. Gay films nowadays don't just focus on romance and heartbreak. They now tell stories of humanity, society, politics and other things," he said.
