Taking place on January 10th – 21st, the 2003 Bangkok International Film Festival will host more than 70 films from over 35 countries. Major highlights of the festival include screenings of Martin Scorsese’s “Gangs of New York” and Rob Marshall’s “Chicago,” starring Richard Gere.
The 2003 festival marks the introduction of a new arbiter of motion picture excellence – the Golden Kinnaree Competition. Based on an ancient and revered Thai mythological figure (whose attributes mix reality with fiction), the Golden Kinnaree Award (designed by world renowned Thai artist Preecha Thaothong – Dean of the Bangkok University Fine Art Department) is destined to become the most highly regarded prize for filmmaking in Southeast Asia. Twelve select films will compete in this exclusive competition for five awards selected by an esteemed international jury: Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Film (“The Golden Kinnaree”).
“By bringing these world-class films to Thailand, we hope to give the Asian community more exposure and become a center for cinematic exchange to all of Asia and the world. In addition, this will allow the Thai Film Industry to showcase some of its major works, such as ‘Blissfully Yours’,” said Somsak Techaratanaprasert, President of the Federation of the National Film Assoc. of Thailand. “This impressive line-up will help solidify Bangkok’s reputation as a major player in the festival world.”
The first annual Golden Kinnaree Competition will open on Friday, January 17th with the Asian premiere of Frida. The highly anticipated film “Hero” is planned to close the event on Tuesday, January 21st along with the Golden Kinnaree Award Ceremony; the film is directed by Zhang Yimau and features Jet Li, Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung.
Other films to be participate in the Golden Kinnaree Competition include:
A Tale of a Naughty Girl (India) – directed by Buddhadeb Dasgupta, starring Tapas Pal and Ramgopal Bajaj
Dirty Deeds (Australia) – directed by David Ceasar and starring Bryan Brown, Barry Ryan, Toni Collette and John Goodman
Dolls (Japan) – directed by Takeshi Kitano and starring Miho Kanno and Hidetoshi Nishijima
La Mentale (France) – directed by Manuel Boursinhac and starring Samuel le Bihan and Samy Naceri
Small Voices (Philippines) – directed by Gil M. Portes, starring Dexter Dorta, Alessandra de Rossi, Gina Alajar and Amy Austria
Spider (Canada) – directed by David Cronenberg and starring Ralph Fiennes, Miranda Richardson and Gabriel Byrne
Supplement (Poland) – directed by Krzysztof Zanussi, starring Pawel Okraska and Monika Krzywkonska
The Man Without a Past (Finland) – directed by Aki Kaurismaki, starring Markku Peltola, Kati Outinen, Juhani Niemela and Annikki Tahti
“The goal of this festival is to present the cinematic landscape of major world films to Asia, and this year’s line-up is a clear indication that we will showcase some of the finest the world has to offer,” said Patrick de Bokay, worldwide executive director of the festival. “We anticipate that the Golden Kinnaree Competition will become to Asia the equivalent of Cannes’ Palme d’Or in Europe.”
For more festival information, visit the Bangkok International Film Festival website.
