The Thailand Film Office, the official government organization in charge of promoting Thai film, gave a belated and half-hearted congratulations today to director Weerasethakul, who won Thailand’s first-ever Palm d’Or at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival last month for Lung Boonmee Raluek Chat (Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives).
Film board director Wanasiri Morakul, whose tenure has seen virtually no support for alternative film directors such as Apichatpong, issued a short and unenthusiastic statement that congratulated him for “bringing honor and fame to the Kingdom of Thailand.” The vaguely-worded statement went on to sort-of acknowledge Apichatpong’s “artistic contributions to the rich cultural traditions of the Siamese people.”
Apichatpong, who has publicly criticized the film board for censoring his previous films, acknowledged the insincere, hollow congratulations by further criticizing the state of Thai film, specifically the recent decision by the Ministry of Culture to spend half its film promotion budget on a single blockbuster film, King Naresuan, directed by a royally-connected member of the cultural elite.
“There are clear conflicts of interest among those deciding who should receive the funds,” Mr Apichatpong said. “Oh, and thanks to the Film Board for – actually, fuck the Film Board. They’re worthless, spineless bureaucrats who wouldn’t know a good movie from a hole in the ground.”
The film board, infamous in the film industry for supporting draconian censorship laws that restrict artistic freedom, also made additional statements encouraging the world to take another look at Thai film.
“Thailand has a rich film history that should not be overlooked,” said Wanasiri Morakul. “Specifically, we hope that Apichatpong’s award will bring new audiences to truly great Thai films such as The Legend of Suriyothai.”
Wanasiri also encouraged movie lovers to rent a copy of Where the Miracle Happens, the film written by and acted in by Princess Ubolrat, “which also played at Cannes,” she added, referring to the Thai government’s decision to privately fund a run at a Cannes cinema when the film failed to be selected as an official entry.
When asked which of Apichatpong’s films was her favorite, she admitted she had not yet seen any.
