Asean Competition films listed

The Bangkok International Film Festival website has recently posted its opening and closing films and the titles entered in the Asean Competition category.

The opener on January 22 is called The Siam Renaissance.

The closer right now is listed as Danny the Dog, starring Jet Li and produced by Luc Besson. This does not seem such an odd choice, seeing how last year the Thai martial arts flick, Ong-Bak, was the closer. However, other reports say Spartan, starring Val Kilmer will be the closer, as Val will be in Bangkok to promote the film. More on this later.

But whatever film is showing, regular moviegoers like me won't be able to get near the cinema, as the showings are for rich and famous VIPs only. This is one aspect of the Bangkok International Film Festival that has tended to alienate some film buffs, and was responsible for the creation of a rival film festival, the World Film Festival of Bangkok, which is held in the fall.

More exciting and accessible is the Asean Competition, which is weighted heavily by films from Thailand and Malaysia. It's still a chance to see some of the best films produced in the past year or so by Southeast Asian filmmakers.

The films in competition are:

• 15 - A teen-oriented flick from Singapore.
• The Big Durian - A docudrama about a gunman's rampage in Kuala Lumpur in 1987 that led to citywide unrest.
• Eliana, Eliana - From Indonesia, a story about one turbulent day in the life of a young adult daughter and her controlling mother.
• King of the Garbage Dump - Romance amidst the trash heap in Hanoi.
• The Last Virgin - A priest who comes to town and performs wonderous deeds. Or is he really a priest? From where else but the Philippines?
• The Macabre Case of Prompiram - This winner of the recent Thailand National Film Association best picture award is a docudrama about the rape and murder of a mentally ill girl.
• Magnifico - A poor Filipino boy refuses to give up.
• My Girl - Sweet, nostalgic story about a little boy and girl growing up in a small town in 1980s Thailand.
• OK Baytong - The latest by director Nonzee Nimibutr places a Buddhist monk in turbulent Muslim south Thailand, where the monk must contend with leaving the monkhood and be confronted by these things called feelings.
• The Overture - Also from Thailand, the historical epic covers the life of a Royal court musician, starting in the late 1800s when he is a young man and stretching into World War II.
• Paloh - Picking up in time where The Overture leaves off, this deals with the confrontation between the Japanese occupation army and the Malaysian communists.
• Room to Let - A tale from the streets of Kuala Lumpur.