Recent Thai hits, “Bad Genius” and “By The Time It Gets Dark” are set to appear as part of the Luang Prabang Film Festival in Laos next month (Dec. 8-13). The festival is increasing its industry support functions.
The festival, which has been operating since 2009, in the UNESCO Heritage town of Luang Prabang focuses in South East Asian cinema.
Other titles include “Blood Road” (Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia), “Unlucky Plaza” (Singapore), “Father and Son” (Vietnam) and “In Exile” (Myanmar).
In addition to the 32 feature films from The Philippines, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Indonesia, Singapore and Laos, the program will this year include four programs of short films, including a selection from Vientianale 2017 and Viddsee’s 2017 Shortee winners.
The festival’s Talent Lab for Southeast Asian filmmakers, will return for the second year in cooperation with the Tribeca Film Institute. It will include workshop sessions on screen writing and pitching, and a selection process that will allow one project to attend the TFI Network market, in New York City next year. Asian film fund, Aurora Media will present a $10,000 prize to one Talent Lab project.
Various conference sessions include discussions on protecting films in the Internet era, Muslim voices of Southeast Asia, and financing non-fiction films. The festival’s Spotlight section returns for a third year, with a focus on Thai cinema headed by critic Kong Rithdee. A five-day documentary production workshop organized by the U.S. Mission to ASEAN and the American Film Showcase, will be headed by renowned Filipino-American filmmaker Ramona Diaz (“Imelda,” “Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey”). The festival will also screen Diaz’s most recent film, “Motherland.”
