 The official festival poster. | |
| Opening film | Children of Glory |
|---|---|
| Closing film | Muay Thai Chaiya |
| Location | CentralWorld, Bangkok |
| Awards | Golden Kinaree Award for Best Film: XXY |
| Festival date | July 19 to July 29, 2007 |
The 2007 Bangkok International Film Festival was held from July 19 to July 29, 2007, at SF Group's SF World Cinema at CentralWorld. The fifth consecutive year for the festival, organizers planned a program of about 100 films, with an emphasis on Asian cinema. [1]
Originally scheduled for January 26 to February 5, the festival was postponed because of a lack of available venues, since Bangkok cinemas at the time had planned to be fully booked with screenings of the part one of The Legend of King Naresuan .
In addition, the film festival organization was hit with a massive budget cut, from 180 million baht to 60 million baht, which resulted in festival organizers, the Tourism Authority of Thailand, having to break their contract with Los Angeles–based Film Festival Management, which had programmed the festival since 2004.
In previous years, the festival's focus had been on big-budget Hollywood films and lavish, red-carpet appearances by celebrities, flown to Bangkok at the festival's expense. With the budget cut and the focus on Asian films, the 2007 festival was expected to be a departure from past years. [2]
The festival initially announced that the French-produced animated feature Persepolis would open the festival. The film is an adaptation of a graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi (who co-directed the film), telling the story of her childhood growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. However, the Embassy of Iran asked the festival organizers to consider showing another film from Iran, so Persepolis was dropped from the program. The festival director, Chattan Kunjara Na Ayudhya, was quoted as saying:
I was invited by the Iranian embassy to discuss the matter and we both came to mutual agreement that it would be beneficial to both countries if the film was not shown. It's a good film, but there are other considerations. [3]
We had a request from the Iranian Embassy that the film festival remove the film, and we did. Now we move on. [4]
However, Chattan also said that the decision to cancel the film was his alone and that "there was no outside pressure". [4]
The Hungarian film, Children of Glory , depicting the "Blood in the Water" Olympic water polo match and the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, was chosen as the replacement opening film.
The festival's lineup featured a retrospective of films by Spanish director Luis Buñuel and a tribute to Indian actress Hema Malini. Malini was among the celebrities taking part in the festival's opening night festivities.
The main competition categories for the Golden Kinaree were for international films and ASEAN films from Southeast Asia, as well as an international short-film competition. Non-competition sections were for Thai Panorama (Thai films released in 2006 and 2007) Asian films, ASEAN films, documentaries and the wide-ranging Windows on the World.
The closing film was Muay Thai Chaiya , a Thai boxing drama film directed by Kongkiat Khomsiri.
Competition trophies were given out in an awards banquet presided over by Princess Ubol Ratana in the World Ballroom in the Centara Grand and Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld.
The economy of Thailand is dependent on exports, which accounted in 2021 for about 58 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP). Thailand itself is a newly industrialized country, with a GDP of 17.922 trillion baht (US$514.8 billion) in 2023, the 9th largest economy in Asia. As of 2018, Thailand has an average inflation of 1.06% and an account surplus of 7.5% of the country's GDP. Its currency, the baht, is ranked as the tenth most frequently used world payment currency in 2017.
The Bangkok International Film Festival (BKKIFF) is an international film festival held annually in Bangkok, Thailand, since 2003. In addition to film screenings, seminars, gala events and the Golden Kinnaree Awards.
Rattana Pestonji was a Thai film director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer and is regarded as the father of contemporary Thai film. Although his filmography was brief, his films placed Thai cinema on the world stage. He also pushed for innovations, and was one of the first Thai directors to use 35-mm film. He died just as he was giving a speech to government officials to call for support of a domestic industry he saw as coming under threat from Hollywood films.
Pen-ek Ratanaruang is a Thai film director and screenwriter. He is best known for his arthouse work, Last Life in the Universe, and is considered to be one of Thai cinema's leading "new wave" auteurs, alongside Wisit Sasanatieng and Apichatpong Weerasethakul. He goes by the nickname Tom and is sometimes credited as Tom Pannet.
Wisit Sasanatieng is a Thai film director and screenwriter of Chinese descent. Best known for his colourful debut feature film, Tears of the Black Tiger, he is among a "New Wave" of Thai directors that include Nonzee Nimibutr and Pen-Ek Ratanaruang.
The cinema of Thailand dates back to the early days of filmmaking, when King Chulalongkorn's 1897 visit to Bern, Switzerland was recorded by François-Henri Lavancy-Clarke. The film was then brought to Bangkok, where it was exhibited. This sparked more interest in film by the Thai Royal Family and local businessmen, who brought in filmmaking equipment and started to exhibit foreign films. By the 1920s, a local film industry had started and in the 1930s, the Thai film industry had its first "golden age", with a number of studios producing films.
The World Film Festival of Bangkok is an annual international film festival held in Bangkok, Thailand.
CentralWorld, is a shopping plaza and complex in the Siam area of Bangkok, in Thailand. It is the ninth-largest shopping center in the world. The complex, which includes a hotel and office tower, is owned by Central Pattana. In 2006, after three years of design and renovation, CentralWorld was expanded to 550,000 m2 (5,900,000 sq ft) of shopping mall and 830,000 m2 (8,900,000 sq ft) of remaining complex, topping nearby rival Siam Paragon in terms of size.
The International Film Festival of Kerala is a film festival held annually in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala, India. This film festival started in 1996 and is hosted by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy on behalf of Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala. The festival is held in November or December every year and is acknowledged as one of the leading cultural events in India.
13 Beloved is a 2006 Thai horror comedy film written and directed by Chukiat Sakveerakul and starring Krissada Sukosol Clapp. The story, about a man who is led through progressively challenging, degrading, and dangerous stunts by mysterious callers from an underground reality game show, is adapted from the 13th Quiz Show episode in the My Mania comic-book series by Eakasit Thairaat. It was the second feature-length film for Chukiat, who previously directed the horror film Pisaj.
Ploy is a 2007 Thai film written and directed by Pen-Ek Ratanaruang. The film premiered during the Directors' Fortnight at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival.
![<i>Innocence</i> (2005 film) 2005 [[Cinema of Thailand|Thailand]] film](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a0/Innocence_movie_poster.jpg)
Innocence, is a 2005 Thai independent documentary film directed by Areeya Chumsai and Nisa Kongsri about a boarding school for hill tribe children in Chiang Mai Province, Thailand.
Persepolis is a 2007 adult animated biographical drama film written and directed by Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud, based on Satrapi's autobiographical graphic novel of the same name. The story follows a young girl as she comes of age against the backdrop of the Iranian Revolution. The title references the historical city of Persepolis.
Bangjong Pisanthanakun is a Thai filmmaker and screenwriter. He saw early success with his first two films, Shutter (2004) and Alone (2007), both horror films that he co-directed and co-wrote with Parkpoom Wongpoom. He also directed the 2013 comedy-horror romance film Pee Mak, which became Thailand's highest-grossing film of all time, and the 2021 horror film The Medium, which was a commercial and critical success in South Korea. In addition to horror films, Bangjong directed the romance films Hello Stranger (2010) and One Day (2016).
The Thai Short Film and Video Festival is an annual film festival held in Bangkok, Thailand, devoted to short film, student film, animation, experimental film and documentary films. It was established in 1997, organised by the Thai Film Foundation.
Thai animation has a rich history, dating back to the 1950s with the production of the first Thai animated shorts. Payut Ngaokrachang is considered the founding father of Thai animation. Over the decades, the industry has flourished, earning both local and international recognition. Today, Thailand has established itself as a popular outsourcing destination for animation work, with 91% of its animation studios providing services to international companies. This has boosted exports and raised the profile of Thai animation, earning recognition from the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) as the top animation-related business destination in Southeast Asia in 2016.
The Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) is a public organization established by royal decree in 2002 to promote Thailand as a destination for meetings, incentives, conferencing, exhibitions (MICE).
The 2025 SEA Games, officially called the 33rd SEA Games and commonly known as Thailand 2025, is an upcoming international multi-sport event sanctioned by the Southeast Asian Games Federation (SEAGF). The event is scheduled to take place from 9 to 20 December 2025 across the Bangkok Metropolitan Region, as well as the provinces of Chonburi and Songkhla, Thailand.
The 2025 ASEAN Para Games, officially called the 13th ASEAN Para Games and commonly known as Thailand 2025, is an upcoming international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities, sanctioned by the ASEAN Para Sports Federation (APSF). The event is scheduled to take place from 20 to 26 January 2026 in Nakhon Ratchasima Province, Thailand.
