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Cinema in Laos emerged later than in nearby Vietnam and Cambodia.
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Cinema in Laos emerged later than in nearby Vietnam and Cambodia.
After colonialism and the civil war, film was not regarded as a priority. Until 1989, the Ministry of Culture's Cinema Department had a monopoly on film production. The first feature-length film produced after the monarchy was abolished is Gun Voice from the Plain of Jars, directed by Somchith Pholsena in 1983, but its release was prevented by censorship. [1] After 1989, several state companies were allowed to operate, but the success was limited. [2] In fact, writing in 1995, Som Ock Southiponh asserted that “Laotian cinema does not exist." [3]
In the 21st century, the government allowed co-productions with foreign companies, which effectively created modern Laotian cinema. In 2008, Sabaidee Luang Prabang (Thai : สะบายดี หลวงพะบาง) was the first commercial film shot in Laos since 1975. It was directed by Thai director Sakchai Deenan together with Anousone Sirisackda, a local Cambodian who had worked for the governmental cinema department. After this experience, Sirisackda felt he was able to direct without foreign support, and in 2010 directed For the Sake of Love (Khophienghak).
Other Laotian directors followed, including Panumas Deesattha with Hak-Am-Lam (2013) and Anysay Kaewla (whose last name is also transliterated as Keola), trained in Thailand, with At the End (Playthang, also titled At the Horizon, 2012). [4] Kaewla's film was described as "a violent thriller that pushed the boundaries of what the Lao government would ultimately tolerate on film." [5] A local critic wrote, "Nightclubs, luxury automobiles, smoking, drinking, men wearing earrings, car chases, and gun violence—that are usually not depicted in Lao media because of strict censorship.” However, after a first draft did not pass censorship, a second draft was accepted, and the movie was successful at the box office. [6]
Documentary co-productions have been successful. The 2017 feature documentary film Blood Road was produced with assistance of the Laos government. Chronicling the journey of an American and Vietnamese mountain biking team traversing over 1,200 miles (1,900 km) on bicycle along the Ho Chi Minh trail to the site where their father, a US Air Force F-4 fighter pilot, was shot down in Laos 40 years earlier. The film would go on to win several awards, most notably a News and Documentary Emmy Award in 2018.
However, the director who made Laotian cinema notable beyond Laos was Mattie Do. She was also Laos' first female director. Born in the United States and trained in Italy, she returned to Laos as part of a relocation deal offered to her husband by a production company. [7] Do made her debut in 2012 with Chanthaly , which was the first horror film written and directed entirely in Laos. Her second film, Dearest Sister (2016) (Lao: ນ້ອງຮັກ) was selected to participate in the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. [8] Do's 2019 film The Long Walk also participated in international festivals. [9]
The Luang Prabang Film Festival (LPFF), is a non-profit organization, founded in 2010, which hosts a yearly film festival in Luang Prabang, Laos. [10] The festival features works solely from ASEAN-member countries. Additionally, the organization supports various educational activities, competitions and small grants for filmmakers from Laos and the greater Southeast Asian region throughout the year. [11]
Vientianale was a film festival held annually in Vientiane from 2009 to 2018. [12] The festival included a competitive short film section for Lao filmmakers, and hosted screenings of popular international films. [13]
Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and southwest. Its capital and most populous city is Vientiane.
Evidence of modern human presence in the northern and central highlands of Indochina, which constitute the territories of the modern Laotian nation-state, dates back to the Lower Paleolithic. These earliest human migrants are Australo-Melanesians—associated with the Hoabinhian culture—and have populated the highlands and the interior, less accessible regions of Laos and all of Southeast Asia to this day. The subsequent Austroasiatic and Austronesian marine migration waves affected landlocked Laos only marginally, and direct Chinese and Indian cultural contact had a greater impact on the country.
Luang Phabang, or Louangphabang, commonly transliterated into Western languages from the pre-1975 Lao spelling ຫຼວງພຣະບາງ as Luang Prabang, literally meaning "Royal Buddha Image", is a city in north central Laos, consisting of 58 adjacent villages, of which 33 comprise the UNESCO Town of Luang Prabang World Heritage Site. It was listed in 1995 for unique and remarkably well preserved architectural, religious and cultural heritage, a blend of the rural and urban developments over several centuries, including the French colonial influences during the 19th and 20th centuries.
The music of Laos includes the music of the Lao people, a Tai ethnic group, and other ethnic groups living in Laos. The traditional music of Laos has similarities with the traditional music of Thailand and Cambodia, including the names of the instruments and influences and developments. To categorize Lao music, it seems helpful to distinguish between the nonclassical folk traditions, the classical music traditions and its basic ensembles, and vocal traditions.
Laos developed its culture and customs as the inland crossroads of trade and migration in Southeast Asia over millennia. As of 2012 Laos has a population of roughly 6.4 million spread over 236,800 km2, yielding one of the lowest population densities in Asia. Yet the country of Laos has an official count of over forty-seven ethnicities divided into 149 sub-groups and 80 different languages. The Lao Loum have throughout the country's history comprised the ethnic and linguistic majority. In Southeast Asia, traditional Lao culture is considered one of the Indic cultures.
Jeow Bong or Jaew Bong also called Luang Prabang chili sauce is a sweet and savory Lao chili paste originating from Luang Prabang, Laos. Jeow Bong is made with sundried chilies, galangal, garlic, fish sauce and other ingredients commonly found in Laos. Its distinguishing ingredient, however, is the addition of shredded water buffalo or pork skin.
Lao New Year, called Pi Mai or less commonly Songkan, is celebrated every year from 13 or 14 April to 15 or 16 April.
The French protectorate of Laos was a French protectorate in Southeast Asia of what is today Laos between 1893 and 1953—with a brief interregnum as a Japanese puppet state in 1945—which constituted part of French Indochina. It was established over the Siamese vassal, the Kingdom of Luang Phrabang, following the Franco-Siamese crisis of 1893. It was integrated into French Indochina and in the following years further Siamese vassals, the Principality of Phuan and Kingdom of Champasak, were annexed into it in 1899 and 1904, respectively.
Southeast Asian cinema is the film industry and films produced in, or by natives of Southeast Asia. It includes any films produced in Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The majority of the films made in this region came from the Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia where its filmmaking industries in these countries are already well-established with film directors such as Lino Brocka, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, and Joko Anwar are well-known outside of the region. Notable production studios in Southeast Asia include Star Cinema, Viva Films, TBA Studios and Reality Entertainment in the Philippines, GDH 559 and Sahamongkol Film International in Thailand, Rapi Films in Indonesia, Astro Shaw in Malaysia, Encore Films in Singapore, and Studio 68 in Vietnam
Ananda Everingham is a Thai actor and model. Working primarily in Thai films, he is best known for his lead role in the 2004 horror film, Shutter.
Som Ock Southiphonh is a Laotian film director, screenwriter and film producer. Trained in Czechoslovakia, his films include Red Lotus, which was made in 1988 and is the last feature film made in Laos until more recent productions like Sabaidee Luang Prabang or Chanthaly. Since then, Som Ock has run a bakery in Vientiane to supplement his income while he tries to independently produce films.
Sabaidee Luang Prabang is a 2008 romantic drama film directed by Sakchai Deenan and starring Ananda Everingham. It was the first commercial film shot in Laos since the country adopted communism in 1975.
Lao sausage, also known as Laotian sausage or sai oua, refers to a popular type of Lao sausage made from coarsely chopped fatty pork seasoned with lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, shallots, cilantro, chillies, garlic, salt, sticky rice and fish sauce. Lao sausage is a broad term used to describe the local variant of Lao-style sausages found in Laos, Northern, and Northeastern Thailand.
Sainyabuli province is a province in northwest Laos. The capital of the province is the town of Saiyabuli. Saiyabuli is the only Lao province that is completely west of the Mekong River.
Luang Prabang is a province in northern Laos. Its capital of the same name, Luang Prabang, was the capital of the Lan Xang Kingdom during the 13th to 16th centuries. It is listed since 1995 by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site for unique architectural, religious and cultural heritage, a blend of the rural and urban developments over several centuries, including the French colonial influences during the 19th and 20th centuries. The province has 12 districts. The Royal Palace, the national museum in the capital city, and the Phou Loei Protected Reserve are important sites. Notable temples in the province are the Wat Xieng Thong, Wat Wisunarat, Wat Sen, Wat Xieng Muan, and Wat Manorom. The Lao New Year is celebrated in April as The Bun Pi Mai.
Chanthaly is a 2012 Lao horror film directed by Mattie Do and written by Christopher Larsen. It is the first horror film to be written and directed entirely in Laos and the first Lao feature film directed by a woman. Chanthaly was screened at the 2012 Luang Prabang Film Festival and the 2013 Fantastic Fest. Pop singer Amphaiphun Phimmapunya stars as Chanthaly, alongside Douangmany Soliphanh and Soukchinda Duangkhamchan.
Mattie Do is a Laotian-American film director. She is Laos's first and only female film director and the first horror film director from Laos.
Dearest Sister is a 2016 Lao horror film that was released in the US on September 25, 2016 and Laos on May 11, 2017. It is the second feature film directed by Mattie Do. It was selected as the Laotian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards, the first time that Laos has submitted a film for consideration in this category, but it was not nominated.
The Luang Prabang Film Festival (LPFF) is a non-profit organization that provides a platform for showcasing Southeast Asia’s film industry.
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