A scene from the film "Thau Chin o Xiem" (Ho Chi Minh in Siam).
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While “Cha va con” competed at the event, “Thau chin o Xiem” was among films in the showcase sidebar. Directed by Bui Tuan Dung, the film features Communist hero Ho Chi Minh, who spent a few years in the northeast of Thailand on his revolutionary activities. It also looks at his journey from Bangkok to Udon Thani in 1927.
The film fest is among a series of events celebrating the 50th founding anniversary of ASEAN (August 8, 1967 - 2017). This is also the third year the Ministry of Culture of Thailand and the Federation of Motion Pictures and Contents Association of Thailand has hosted the event to honour film producers and outstanding movies from ASEAN member countries.
Singaporean filmmaker Kirsten Tan's feature film, Pop Aye, is on an award-winning streak. It snapped up the Jury Prize at the Bangkok ASEAN Film Festival 2017 on Monday (May 1). The Jury Prize is worth US$5,000.
Besides winning the Special Jury Award for Screenwriting in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at Sundance in Park City, Utah, on January 29, the film also took the VPRO Big Screen Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam in the Netherlands on February 4 — another first for Singapore films.
The film returned to Thailand this month for the festival. At the awards ceremony on Monday, the film’s producer, Lai Weijie, received the award on Tan’s behalf. Pop Aye is currently showing in Golden Village cinemas, and also has limited screenings at The Projector.
