Southeast Asian indies and documentaries mix with Hollywood galmour and Cannes prize-winners

The Bangkok International Film Festival gets underway next Thursday with more than 80 films at SFW CentralWorld and Paragon Cineplex over a packed seven-day schedule.

Opening the fest at Central-World is "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans", the latest work of the German director Werner Herzog, with Nicolas Cage and Eva Mendes. Cage plays a drug-addicted homicide detective who becomes involved with a dealer suspected of murdering a family of African immigrants.

Nine short films from the TV Thai's "Sawasdee Bangkok" project will close out the festival. Similar in concept to "Paris je t'aime", each short depicts different lifestyles with the Thai capital forming the backdrop. The directors include Bhandit Rittakol, Prachya Pinkaew, Wisit Sasanatieng, Aditya Assarat and Pen-ek Ratanaruang

Pen-ek's latest film "Nang Mai" ("Nymph") is the only Thai film in this year's South East Asian Competition. There are also the Filipino offerings "Aurora" and "Independencia", plus "In the House of Straw" from Singapore.

The main competition category brings together works by directors making their first or second film. These include "Adrift" from Vietnam, "Everyone Else" from Germany and "I Killed My Mother" from Canada.

Pedro Almodovar's "Broken Embraces" screens in the World Cinema category, along with Cannes winners "A Prophet" and "Antichrist".

The multi-awarded documentary-style drama "Swan Bana" ("Agrarian Utopia") by Thai director Urupong Raksasad is in the Documentary Showcase alongside "Burma VJ".

There are also retrospectives for the late Thai director Cherd Songsri and Yasmin Ahmad, the Malaysian director who died in July.

Bring on the stars

Celebrities expected to walk the red carpet include actors James Belushi and Ving Rhames, action hero Jean-Claude Van Damme, young star Kyle Gallner ("The Haunting in Connecticut") and actresses Scout Taylor Compton and Olivia Thirlby.

Chinese director Li Yang heads the jury for the main competition along with Brillante Mendoza from the Philippines and Thai director Ekachai Uekrongtham.

The Southeast Asian Competition juries is headed by the German film critic Vincenzo Bugno, Singaporean director Royston Tan and Tul Waitoonkiat, the singer the Thai indie rock band Apartment Khunpa band.

The Thai Night will be held at the Siam Niramitr Theatre on September 26 while the Golden Kinaree Awards on September 30 will be held at the riverside Chatrium Suite Hotel on Charoenkrung road.

Seminar subjects include "Films in Crisis?", Protecting Your Film in the Digital Era" and "Thailywood-Evolving and Involving".

>> ON THE INTERNET

www.BangkokFilm.org.